406 LARIDAR 
In Scotland, specimens have been taken in Banffshire,* 
the Isle of Mull, and the Shetlands. 
This elegant species can be identified from other small 
‘hooded ’ Gulls by its forked tail. Its build is slender, 
somewhat like that of the Terns with which it often asso- 
ciates, and like these birds, it shows the same fearlessness 
in the presence of man or dog. 
Flight—Its buoyant, elastic, and remarkably graceful 
movements on the wing may also be compared to those 
of the Terns. 
Food.—Small fishes form the staple diet, but various 
other creatures are eaten, such as crabs, shrimps, worms, 
erubs, and insects. 
Voice.—The note 1s shrill, resembling the syllables ‘lick, 
klick, klick. 
Nest.—The nest is a simple structure, composed of dry 
erasses, rudely matted together. It is generally situated in 
lacustrine districts, or on swamps adjacent to the sea: the 
egos, two in number, and of a greenish-brown ground- 
colour, blotched with darker shades, are sometimes laid on 
the bare ground among loose stones, in the vicinity of a 
Tern-colony. 
Geographical distribution.—The breeding-haunts of this 
Gull are practically circumpolar. In 1818, the late Sir 
Edward Sabine found it nesting in Western Greenland, in 
lat. 75° 29’ N., long. 60° 9’ W. On migration in autumn 
and winter, it travels along the Atlantic sea-board to about 
lat. 30° N., while on the Pacific side it can be traced as 
far south as Peru. 
DESCRIPTIYE CHARACTERS. 
PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial.Head and upper neck, 
dull brownish-grey, limited below by a black collar; lower 
neck, breast, abdomen, and tail, white; back and wings, 
‘french’ grey ; secondaries and five inner primaries, almost 
white ; remaining primaries, black, broadly tipped with 
white. 
Adult female nuptial.—Similar to the male plumage. 
Adult winter, male and female.—Top of head, white ; 
back of head, streaked with grey; hind-neck, washed with 
ereyish-black. 
Immature, male and female.—Back and wings, greyish 
