Vol. XIX-j KoBBE, The Status of Certain Species of Larus. 2 1 



Prof. Palmen describes a new subspecies of the Herring Gull as 

 Larus argentatus var. vega, ' characterized by a particularly dark 

 gull-gray mantle and flesh-colored legs,' from the countries bor- 

 dering on Bering Sea and adjacent waters. There is no doubt in 

 my mind that this is the bird which North American ornitholo- 

 gists (including A. O. U. Check-List) call Larus cachitmans 

 ' Pallas,' and I have always had a suspicion that the color of the 

 feet of this bird as given in North American publications was 

 erroneous, it being in most cases stated to be yellow, and my sus- 

 picion has been confirmed by the fact that Mr. P. L. Jouy in his 

 MS. catalogue gives the color of the feet of two specimens from 

 Japan (Jouy, Nos. 1030, 103 1) otherwise indistinguishable from 

 L. cachinnaiis Auct. Amer. as ' very pale flesh-color.' The Medi- 

 terranean bird, on the other hand, is known to have yellow feet, 

 and as Pallas describes his Z. cachinnans as having ' pedes pallide 

 flavescentes' (Zoogr. Ross. As., II, p. 319), with the principal 

 habitat ' Mare Caspium,' while he does not mention it as occur- 

 ring in the Pacific, it seems as if Palmen were right in giving the 

 form from the North Pacific a new name. I am not prepared, 

 however, to accept as yet a trinominal appellation, as the true 

 status and relationship of the present Gull are not well estab- 

 lished, and propose to recognize it ?i?. Larus vega:. (Palme'n)." 



My own observations on freshly killed birds have always shown 

 them to possess flesh-colored and not yellow legs. Larus cachin- 

 naiis of Europe has yellow feet, as is seen not only in the original 

 description, but in ' Notes on Avifauna of Italy ' by Henry H. 

 Giglioli, which appeared in 'The Ibis ' for April, 1881, p. 219, 

 where he says : " The adults in all seasons have the head and 

 neck pure white without any trace of brown specks, and legs and 

 feet of a bright yellow." 



From the foregoing facts we must conclude that Larus vegcR has 

 flesh-colored feet and Larus cachinnans yellow feet, which charac- 

 ters separate them at once. 



The British Museum Catalogue gives the following descriptions 

 of the two birds. In speaking of Larus cachinnans on page 268 

 of Vol. XXV, it says: ''Adult in breeding plumage v^xj similar to 

 the preceding, from which, in fact, it differs only in the following 

 particulars :— The ring round the eye is bright orange-red, the gape 



