° 1919 J Pangburn, Birds of Pinellas County, Fla. 395 



2. Podilymbus podiceps. Pied-billed Grebe. — Abundant at all 

 times on Salt Lake, which as mentioned above is actually fresh. These 

 Grebes were in company with Coots, but not nearly so numerous. Present 

 but less abundant as late as April 20. 



3. Gavia immer. Loon. — Present in small numbers on the bays. 

 On February 13 I watched two for some time within fifty feet of a dock 

 from which a number of people were fishing. 



4. Gavia stellata. Red-throated Loon. — Two seen on January 

 30 is my only record of this species. 



5. Larus argentatus. Herring Gull. — Herring Gulls were fairly 

 common at all times although outnumbered by the two following species. 

 Nearly all of the birds seen were immature. 



6. Larus delawarensis. Ring-billed Gull. — These gulls became 

 very common from February 11 until late April, although prior to that time 

 I did not see any. This may have been because I did not get to Boca Ceiga 

 bay, where they were most abundant until that date. Fairly common 

 along the Gulf beaches. 



7. Larus atricilla. Laughing Gull. — Hundreds of Laughing Gulls 

 were always present, and every sort of transitional stage of plumage could 

 be observed. They are easily attracted by throwing minnows into the 

 water. The fishermen call them Crying Gulls, a name perhaps fully as 

 appropriate as the official title. The Laughing Gull is a persistent tor- 

 mentor of the Brown Pelican. While the latter is squeezing the water 

 from its pouch after catching a fish the Gull will calmly perch on the 

 Pelican's head, and attempt to steal the fish when it is tossed prior to swal- 

 lowing. The Pelicans appear to ignore totally the presence of the Gull 

 and I have never seen one lose a fish. After watching hundreds of unsucces- 

 ful attempts by the Laughing Gulls to steal a meal in this way I came to 

 the conclusion that they must be an extremely optimistic species. 



8. Larus franklini. Franklin's Gull. — I saw one Franklin's 

 Gull on February 26. It was in company with several other species at the 

 mouth of a sewer where I watched it for half an hour or more with an eight 

 diameter glass, often being within twenty-five feet. There could be no 

 doubt of the identification. This is I believe a rare Gull in Florida. 



9. Larus Philadelphia. Bonaparte's Gull. — A few Bonaparte's 

 Gulls were observed on a half-dozen different dates ranging from January 

 28 to April 29. They were always in company with Laughing Gulls. 

 Apparently a regular but scarce winter visitor on this portion of the West 

 Coast. 



10. Sterna caspia. Caspian Tern. — This magnificent Tern was 

 about as common as the equally handsome species which follows, both 

 being abundant. They were seen over both bays, the Gulf and the fresh 

 water lake. They are also fond of sitting for hours on sand bars with 

 other water birds. At such times they are shy and are the first to take 

 flight. They have a considerable variety of calls and whistles. 



11. Sterna maxima. Royal Tern. — What has been said about 



