154 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



Family LARID^. Gulls and Terns. 



The Gulls and Terns are birds of strong flight, graceful on the 

 wing, and usually found over water. Their food consists chiefly 

 of fish, either caught alive or found dead, and garbage found in 

 the water. In general the Gulls are larger than the Terns, with 

 thicker, more strongly hooked bill. In flight the Gulls usually 

 hold the bill horizontally, in line with the body, while the Terns 

 fly with the bill pointing downward instead of forward. Most of 

 the Terns, as well as the Gulls, are valuable as insect destroyers, 

 particularly of the larvae of water-breeding insects. 



Subfamily LARIN^. Gulls. 



Genus lyARUS lyinnceus. 



11. (51). La rus a f-gc7ifa^HS Briinn. Herring Gull. 



The Herring Gull appears to be fairly common as a migrant 

 along the larger rivers of the state, being most numerous along 

 the Mississippi. Currier and Praeger report it as a "common win- 

 ter resident; abundant migrant" in Lee county. All other observ- 

 ers report it simply as a migrant. The University museum has 

 specimens collected on the following dates: March 29, 1887, by 

 Jacob Ham; JVIarch 12, 1898, by Wm. Mathes (Johnson); Sept. 

 15, 1890, by Paul Bartsch (Des Moines county); March 21, 1904, 

 by P. G. Bayers (Marengo, Iowa county); male in Bond collec- 

 tion, Greencastle (no date). 



County records: Blackhawk — (Peck, Walters); Des Moines — 

 (Bartsch); Dickinson — (Berry); Iowa— (Bayers); Jackson — (Gid- 

 dings); Lee — (Currier, Praeger); Polk — (Johnson); Woodbury — 

 (Rich). "Common transient on Missi.ssippi River near Rock 

 Island, 111." (Wilson). 



12. (54). Larus delaivarensis QxA. Ring-billed Gull. 



The Ring-billed Gull is probably the most common representa- 

 tive of the genus in Iowa. There is no evidence of its nesting in 

 Iowa, although many observers report it to be generally common 

 as a migrant. 



County records: Blackhawk — (Peck); Boone — (Henning); 

 Dickinson — (Berry); Hancock — "one shot from a flock of three 

 on Lake Edwards, May 13, 1893" (Anderson); Jasper — Powe- 



