HERRING GULL 
51. Larus argentatus. 24 in. 
Adults in summer, white, with gray mantle, and black 
primaries tipped with white. In winter, the head and 
neck are streaked below with grayish brown. Bills of 
adults, yellow with red spot on lower mandible; eye 
yellow; feet flesh color; bill of young, flesh color with 
a blackish tip. These are the most abundant of the 
larger gulls and the best known because of their south- 
erly distribution. Several of the smaller Maine islands 
have colonies of thousands of birds each, and in winter 
-great numbers of them are seen in all the harbors along 
our seacoast. Young gulls are born covered with down, 
and ean run swiftly and swim well. 
_ Notes.— Cack-cack-cack ” and very noisy squawkings 
when disturbed at their breeding grounds. 
Nest.—A hollow in the ground, or a heap of weeds 
and trash. The three eggs are olive-gray, spotted with 
black (2.8 x 1.7). 
Range.—Breeds from Maine, the Great Lakes and Da- 
kotas northward; winters south to the Gulf of Mexico. 
