474 LARIDE. 



secured sixty dozen of their eggs for winter use, although the 

 extent of the island was scarcely half an acre." 



Professor Nilsson says this species is found on most of the 

 shores and islands of Sweden and Norway ; it is also found 

 at Iceland. A single specimen was seen by our Arctic 

 voyagers in Baffin''s Bay, and the species was included by 

 Fabricius in his Birds of Greenland. According to Mr. Au- 

 dubon the Great Black-bached Gull inhabits North America. 



This species is observed on the coasts of Germany, Hol- 

 land, and France ; it is included by M. Savi, in his Birds of 

 Italy, and it was found by the Russian naturalists in the 

 vicinity of the Caspian Sea. 



The adult bird in summer has the bill pale yellow, the 

 inferior angle of the under mandible reddish-orange, the 

 whole bill very large and strong ; the irides straw yellow, the 

 edges of the eyelids orange ; head and neck pure white ; 

 back, wing-coverts, scapularies, secondaries, and tcrtials lead 

 grey, the feathers of the three latter series ending in white ; 

 primaries nearly black, the first and second quill-feathers with 

 a triangular white patch, forming the end of each feather, the 

 second quill-feather having a black spot in the white ; all the 

 others tipped with white, the inner broad webs being lead- 

 grey ; upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers pure white ; chin, 

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

 and tail pure white ; legs and feet flesh-colour. In winter 

 the crown of the head and the occiput are slightly streaked 

 with ash-grey. The whole length of an adult male is thirty 

 inches, and sometimes rather more; the wing, from the carpal 

 joint to the end of the longest quill-fcather twenty inches. 

 The female measures twenty-seven inches, and her wing nine- 

 teen inches. 



The young birds in their stages to maturity resemble the 

 young of the licsser Black-backed Gull, but arc always much 

 larger, and their legs are paler in colour. 



