GULLS. 75 



to sixth primaries tipped with white, then banded with gradually diminishing 

 bars of black, which are succeeded by a whitish space, while the rest of the 

 feather is pearl-gray ; bill dark coral-red. Ad. in winter. — '' Similar, but head 

 and neck white, the occiput, with orbital and auricular regions, grayish dusky ; 

 bill and feet dusky, the former tipped with orange reddish." Young.^ first 

 plumage. — " Top and sides of the head (except forehead and lores), back and 

 scapulars grayish brown, the longer scapulars bordered terminally with pale 

 grayish buff; wing-coverts bluish gray tinged with grayish brown; seconda- 

 ries dusky, edged with pale grayish blue and broadly tipped with white ; pri- 

 maries dusky, the inner more plumbeous, all broadly tipped with white. 

 Central portion of the rump uniform light bluish gray ; lateral and posterior 

 portions of the rump, upper tail-coverts, entire lower parts, forehead, lores, and 

 eyelids white. Bill brownish, dusky terminally ; feet brown (in skin)." W., 

 11-25 ; B., 1-30 ; depth through nostrils, -35 ; Tar., 1-60 (B., B., and E.). 



A'fl«Y/e.—" Breeds from southern Minnesota and Dakota northward ; win- 

 ters in the Southern States, and migrates principally west of the Mississippi 

 Kiver" (Cooke and Merriam). Not found on the Atlantic coast. 



Kest^ of grasses, etc., in reedy or bush-grown marshes. Eggs., one to three, 

 varying from dark chocolate to creamy brown and sooty white, irregularly 

 marked with small spots or large blotches of umber, and with obsolete lilac 

 shell markings, 2-12 x 1-40 (Preston). 



This inland species reaches our western limits. An excellent ac- 

 count of its habits, by J. W. Preston, will be found in the Ornitholo- 

 gist and Oologist, xi, pp. 54, 55. 



60. Larus Philadelphia ( Ord). Bonaparte's Gull. Ad. in summer. 

 — Whole head and throat dark, sooty slate-color; nape and sides of the neck, 

 under parts, except throat, and tail white ; back and wings pearl-gray ; first 

 primary, seen from above, white, the outer web and tip black (Fig. 60, e) ; 

 second and third primaries white, tipped with black ; third to sixth primaries 

 with small whitish tips, then large black spaces, the rest of the feather white 

 or pearl-gray ; bill black. Ad. in winter. — Similar to the preceding, buthead 

 and throat white, the back and sides of the head washed with grayish. Im. 

 —Top of the head and nape and a spot on the auriculars more or less washed 

 with grayish ; back varying from brownish gray to pearl-gray ; lesser wing- 

 coverts grayish brown, secondaries mostly pearl-gray ; first primary with the 

 outer web, tip, and most of the shaft part of the inner web black ; inner mar- 

 gin of the inner web at the end of the feather narrowly bordered with black ; 

 second and third primaries much the same, but with slightly more black at 

 the ends ; tail white, banded with black and narrowly tipped with white ; 

 under parts white. L., 14-00 ; W., 10-30 ; T., 4-00 ; B., 1-15. 



Range. — Breeds from Manitoba northward; apparently no record of its 

 breeding on the Atlantic coast ; winters southward to the Gulf of Mexico. 



Washington, common T. V., Mch. to May 5 ; Oct. and Nov. Long Island, 

 common T. V., a few winter, Oct. to Apl. Sing Sing, rather rare T. V., Apl. 

 and Oct. 



Nest., of sticks lined with grasses, etc., on stumps, in bushes or trees four 



