228 Mr. C. A. Wright's Fijth Appendix to a 



Ph. roseus. Ph. erythr<EUS. 



ft. in. ft. in. 



Total length 4 lOf 3 6 



Legs 2 1 1 3 



Tarsus 1 2^ 9^ 



Wing 1 5i 1 2 



Beak, tip to margin of frontal feathers ..06 4| 



The plumage of the smaller bird is more generally diffused 

 with pink, and the red on the wing-coverts is more extended 

 and brighter. The tail-feathers are white, with a slight tinge 

 of pink. The form of the beak is precisely the same as in 

 Ph. roseus, only proportionately smaller. 



275. Larus leucoph^us (Lichst.). 



This bird appears to be the common representative oi Lairus 

 argentatus in the Mediterranean, from which it chiefly differs 

 in its darker mantle and ochreous-coloured legs ; in L. ar- 

 gentatus the legs are livid white. I had often remarked this 

 difference ; but it was not until my attention was drawn to 

 the fact of the existence of Lams leucophceus in the Mediter- 

 ranean by my friend Mr. Howard Saunders_, who has devoted 

 much attention to the Laridse, that I became aware of it being 

 the common so-called " Herring- Gull'' of Malta. I have 

 since shot several specimens, besides haviug seen numerous 

 examples flying about the harbours, close enough to note the 

 colour of the legs ; and all have proved to be Larus leucophcBus. 



The presence here, therefore, of its near ally, Larus argen- 

 tatus, requires confirmation ; and my observations under this 

 head (Ibis, 1864, p. 151) should be applied to Larus leu- 

 cophceus ; for it is very unlikely we should have L. argentatus 

 here in the breeding-season, though it is not impossible both 

 species may occur in the winter. Subjoined are the dimen- 

 sions, taken in the flesh, of two birds shot at the mouth of the 

 Grand Harbour on the 21st of February, 1871, — the first 

 being an undoubted L. leucophceus , the second probably the 

 same species in immature plumage. Both specimens were 

 preserved. 



Adult ? . Length 1 ft. \\\ in. ; carpus to tip 1 ft. 5^ in. ; 

 tarsus 2^ in. ; beak to angle of gape 3 in. ; middle toe same 



