SABINE'S GULL. 



GA VIj^E. 



573 



LAIilD.F.. 



'^:^:0^^^ <u .V r"^ 



Xema sabinii (J. Sabine*). 



SABINE'S GULL. 



Larus Sahinl. 



Xe3IA, Leach f. — Bill rather shorter thau the head, moderately stout, the 

 upper mandible decurved from beyond the nostrils to the tip, the gonys angn- 

 lated and advancing upwards ; nostrils basal, lateral, linear. Legs moderately 

 long ; the lower part of the tibire bare for some distance ; tarsi tolerably strong ; 

 three toes in front entirely palmated, hind toe small, elevated. Wings long, the 

 first quill-feather the longest. Tail distinctb/ forked. 



The prominent angle at the symphisis of the under man- 

 dible ; the extent of the palmated membrane between the 

 toes, and the almost square tail observed, more or less, in 

 some of the Terns, indicate a degree of connection with the 

 Gulls ; and the Gull here first inserted, by its forked tail, 

 exhibits one point of resemblance to the greater number 



* Larus Sabhii, Joseph Sabine, Trans. Linn. Soc. xii. p. 520, pi. xxix. (1818). 



t Xema, Leaeh ; J.Ross, in Ross's Voy. App. ii. p. Ivii. (1819). The genus 

 has been irai>ropcrly made, by others, to include the small hooded species, and 

 also some of those without hoods. 



