\VEDGE-TAIL1£D GULL 47 



recognisable from other species of Gull by its beautiful rose- 

 coloured breast, its wedge-shaped tail, and its airy flight. 



" It is, without comparison, the most beautiful of all the 

 animal forms of the frozen regions. Hitherto it has only been 

 seen by chance on the utmost confines of the unknown Polar 

 Sea, and no one knew whence it came or whither it went ; but 

 here we had unexpectedly come upon its native haunt, and 

 although it was too late in the year (August, 1895), ^o ^^^^ '^^^ 

 nests, there could be no doubt about its breeding in this region.", 



Habits. — Little is known of the habits of this rare Gull ; Mr. 

 John Murdoch, of the U.S. Signal Corps, procured a number 

 of specimens at Point Barrow. He writes: — "In 1881, from 

 September 28 to October 22, there were days when they were 

 exceedingly abundant in small flocks — generally moving 

 towards the north-east— either flying over the sea or making 

 short incursions inshore. Not a single one was seen during 

 the spring migrations or in the summer, but two or three 

 stragglers were noticed early in September — a few out among 

 the loose pack-ice — and on September 21, 1882, they were 

 again abundant, apparently almost all young birds. They 

 appeared in large loose flocks, coming in from the sea and 

 from the south-west, all apparently travelling to the north-east. 

 They continued in plenty for several days — while the east 

 wind blew — all following the same track, moving up the 

 shore, and making short excursions inland at each of the 

 beach lagoons. After September 28th they disappeared till 

 October 6th, when, for several days, there was a large flight. 

 On October 9th in particular there was a continuous stream 

 of them all day long, moving up the shore a short distance 

 from the beach and occasionally swinging in over the land. 

 JVone were seen to return. The nature of our duties at the 

 station prevented any investigation as to where they came 

 from or whither they went. They appeared to come in from 

 the sea, in the west or north-west, and travelled along 

 the coast to the north-east. They were not observed on 

 Wrangel Island by either the ' Jeannette,' the 'Corwin,' or the 

 'Rodgers,' and yet the direction from which they come to 

 Point Barrow in the fall points to a breeding-ground some- 

 where in that part of the world. May it not be that some land 



