THB BLACK-HBADBD GULL. 16$ 



apper part and sides of the neck, of a lead colcur ; the bill 

 and legs, of a dirty, dark, purplish brown. Others haye 

 not the white spots above and below the eyes ; these an 

 young birds. 



Tho changes of plumage, to which birds of this genus are 

 subject, have tended not a little to confound the naturalist j 

 and a considerable collision of opinion, arising from an im- 

 perfect acquaintance with the living subjects, has been the 

 result. To investigate thoroughly their history, it is obvi- 

 ously necessary that the ornithologist should freqi^ently 

 explore their native haunts ; and, to determine the species 

 of periodical or occasional visiters, an accurate comparative 

 examination of many specimens, either alive or recently 

 killed, is indispensable. Less confusion would arise among 

 authors, if they would occasionally abandon their accustomed 

 walks — their studies and their museums, and seek correct 

 knowledge in the only place where it is to be obtained — 

 in the grand temple of nature. As it respects, in particular, 

 the tribe under review, the zealous inquirer would find him- 

 self amply compensated for all his toil, by observing these 

 neat and clean birds coursing along the rivers and coast, 

 enlivening the prospect by their airy movements, now 

 skimming closely over the watery element, watching the 

 motions of the surges, and now rising into the higher 

 regions, sporting with the winds, — while he inhaled the 

 invigorating breezes of the ocean, and listened to the sooth- 

 ing murmurs of its billpws. 



