648 LARID^. 



cially in the southern one ; and thence it ranges throughout 

 the greater portion of the Arctic regions of America. During 

 Sir James C. Ross's and Sir Edward Parry's first voyages, 

 many specimens of this Gull were obtained in Davis's 

 Straits, Baffin's Bay, and at Melville Island ; the naturalists 

 of the Arctic Expedition of 1875-6 did not, however, 

 observe it in Smith's Sound. It is abundant on all the 

 shores of Bering Sea ; on the Aleutian Islands and the 

 Alaskan coast ; and in the vicinity of Herald Island on the 

 Siberian side. Southward its range extends to California ; 

 and on the Asiatic side to Japan, an examj)le having been 

 procured at Yezo by Capt. Blakistou. 



The eggs of this species are laid early in June, in a small 

 depression on the bare ground, or on the ledges of precipices ; 

 their colour is of a greenish-stone blotched with brown, and 

 the average measurements are '2*75 by 1*8 in. 



In the adult Iceland Gull the bill is small and yellow, 

 the angle of the under mandible red ; the irides straw- 

 yellow ; head and neck all round pure white ; back, wings, 

 and all the wing-coverts very pale grey; secondaries 

 tipped with white, forming a visible light band ; primary 

 quill-feathers white, washed with pearl-grey on the upper 

 portion ; upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers white ; chin, 

 throat, breast, and all the under surface of the body and 

 tail, pure white ; legs, flesh-coloured. From September to 

 the beginning of April, the head and neck are spotted and 

 streaked with grey. 



The whole length is twenty-two inches ; the pointed ends 

 of the wings, when closed, reach two inches beyond the tail, 

 and are sometimes seventeen inches in length : as much 

 as in some examples of the Glaucous Gull ; but in other 

 respects the usual dimensions of the latter sj)ecies are far 

 sujierior. 



The young bird has the bill pale yellow at the base, the 

 anterior half horny-black ; the irides dark brown, head and 

 neck dull white, clouded with pale ash-brown ; the back the 

 same colour ; secondaries, tertials, and all the wing-coverts 

 dull white, marked transversely with pale brown angular 



