A First Glance at the Birds, 



the live bird flying about us, is to ap- 

 proximate its name. With the young, 

 even this is impossible in many in- 

 stances, as the characteristics are even 

 less defined. 



Of gulls of the largest size, three 

 species are common about the bay — the 

 glaucous-winged, the American herring 

 and the western gull. The first of these 

 may be known by the long flight or wing- 

 quills, which are bluish gray in color, 

 save for the white spots at their tips. 

 In the other two species the wing-quills 

 are black or blackish brown, usually 

 marked with large spots of white. The 

 western gull has a much darker, slaty- 

 colored mantle, and a stouter bill than 

 the American herring gull. This latter 

 species may consequently be known as 

 one of the largest gulls, with a com- 

 paratively slender bill, black primaries 

 and a pale blue mantle. Even the 

 immature bird of this species may be 

 distinguished by its paler shade of 

 brownish gray and its more slender bill. 



17 



