666 ICELAND GULL. 



bird has been observed by Mr. Cordeaux in the Humber district as 

 late as April i8th. In Ireland it has but seldom been recognized, 

 and chiefly on the estuary of the Moy. 



The Iceland Gull sometimes wanders to the Faeroes ; but, strange 

 to say, the island from which it derives its trivial name is only in- 

 habited by it from September to May, during which period it is 

 also found on the coasts of Norway, the North Sea, and the north- 

 west of France. The correctness of its identification in Novaya 

 Zemlya is questionable. During the breeding-season it appears to 

 be confined to Greenland and the Arctic regions of America, though 

 in the latter our naturalists did not observe it in Smith Sound during 

 the expedition of 1S75-6 ; thence westward we trace it to Alaska, 

 where — and throughout Bering Sea— it is, according to Mr. E. W. 

 Nelson, the most numerous of the family. In winter it ranges 

 southward to California, and on the Asiatic side of the Pacific an 

 example was obtained by Capt. Blakiston at Yezo in Japan. 

 Returning to America, it is of regular occurrence as far south as 

 Lake Michigan during the colder months. 



The nest is often placed upon ledges of lofty cliff's ; but in Alaska 

 small islets are much frequented, and Mr. Dall found the eggs laid 

 in shallow depressions in the sandy beaches of the Yukon, early in 

 June. These are 2-3 in number, and are of a greenish stone-colour 

 blotched with brown : average measurements 275 by i'8 in. The 

 food consists chiefly of small fish, but crustaceans as well as refuse 

 are greedily devoured, and Saxby noticed a partiality for oats and 

 other vegetable substances. The flight is lighter and more elegant 

 than that of the Glaucous Gull — as might be expected from the fact 

 that the Icelander has much longer wings in proportion to its bulk ; 

 and Mr. Harvie-Erown has remarked that when resting upon a 

 mud-bank it has a neater and more slender appearance and stands 

 higher on its legs. 



The adult in summer has the bill yellow, red at the angle; 

 mantle pale grey ; secondaries tipped with white which forms a 

 band contrasting with the grey ; rest of the plumage white ; legs 

 and feet yellowish flesh-colour. Length 22 in., wing 16-17 i"- 

 During the winter months the head and neck are spotted and 

 streaked with grey. The young bird is at first somewhat darker 

 than the immature Z. giauats, but is otherwise similar, and goes 

 through the same stages till maturity is attained in the fourth year. 



