ROSS'S GULL. 239 



peculiar shrill and plaintive cry. Small flocks, early in au- 

 tumn, are occasionally seen on the coast of Massachusetts, and 

 sometimes high in the air their almost melodious whistling is 

 heard as they proceed on their way to the South, or inland to 

 feed. Their prey appears to be chiefly insects ; and two which 

 I had an opportunity of examining were gorged with ants and 

 their eggs, and some larvae of moths in their pupa state. These 

 birds both old and young are good food. 



Bonaparte's Gull ranges throughout North America, breeding 

 in the fur countries, and migrating by inland and coast routes to 

 and from its winter resorts in the southern portions of the United 

 States. 



Small numbers of these Gulls are seen on the New England 

 coast during the summer, but no evidence has been produced of 

 their having nested in this vicinity, and they probably build no 

 farther south than about latitude 43°. It has been suggested that 

 the examples that loiter through the summer without reaching the 

 breeding-grounds are immature or unfertile birds. In the autumn 

 — from early August on — large flocks of these birds swarm along 

 the coast. 



ROSS'S GULL. 



wedge-tailed gull. 



Rhodostethia rosea. 



Char. Mantle pearl gray; head and tail white; a narrow collar of 

 black around the neck, and a few black feathers near the eyes ; outer 

 feather of the wings black ; tail long, pointed, and wedge-shaped ; bill 

 slender and black; legs and feet dull red, — "terracotta," — claws black. 

 Length 13^ inches. 



In winter the black collar is absent, and the crown is tinged with gray. 

 Young birds are distinguished by a band of brownish black on wings and 

 tail. 



Nest and £ggs. Unknown. 



Although discovered so long ago as 1823, very little is yet known 

 of the habits or distribution of this Gull. So late as 1881, only 

 twenty-three specimens were to be found in the museums of the 

 world, and the species was supposed to be exceedingly rare, until 

 the American expedition to Point Barron saw large loose flocks 



