48 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



As shown by the writer and others, the formerly recognized 

 variety called the American Herring Gull was based on certain 

 markings which proved to be assumed at proper stages of 

 development by the birds of both countries, or in other words 

 a large proportion of the old adult birds of North America 

 were not different from the Herring Gull, consequently the 

 birds of both continents are now called non-separable. Along 

 the coast of Maine it breeds in colonies fron No- Man's- Land 

 eastward, and there is resident throughout the year, while 

 westward of this limit it occurs as a non-breeding summer coast 

 bird to beyond our boundary, and as a very common bird 

 from fall to spring. Inland it occurs along many of the rivers 

 in spring and fall, and occasionally about open water through 

 the winter, and appears on the larger lakes soon after the ice 

 breaks up in spring, remaining in many cases to breed. Moose- 

 head and many other large lakes of northern and western 

 Maine are inhabited by breeding colonies of these birds. Large 

 colonies nest on many of the outer islands of the coast such as 

 No-Man's-Land, Little Duck Island, Big Duck Island, Spirit 

 Ledge, Heron Island, Big and Little Spoon Islands, Black 

 Horse, Red Horse, and many other suitable islands. 



The nests are usually placed on the ground among rocks, 

 on shelves of cliffs and rocky slopes, but in many cases where 

 the birds have been repeatedly disturbed the nests are placed 

 in trees, usually on the limbs of stunted Black Spruces (^Picea 

 nigra Link.). The nests are composed of dry grass and sea- 

 weed, with occasionally a few scattered feathers, and the 

 eggs are laid from early June until well into July, usually 

 however about June 12. Two, usually three, and very rarely 

 four or exceptionally five eggs have been found in one nest. I 

 have on one or two occasions seen bluish white unspotted eggs 

 but these are very exceptional and doubtless due to some dis- 

 order of the pigment glands of the bird. A majority of the 

 eggs have a ground color ranging from bluish white through 

 yellowish brown and olive brown, and they are more or less 



