CALIFORNIA WATER BIRDS. 23 



All the adult specimens taken had the head and neck 

 clouded with sooty gray. In two males and a female, 

 however, the gray is restricted almost entirely to the upper 

 surface of these parts. It is a notable circumstance that 

 most of the examples of this Gull obtained at Monterey 

 are females. 



Larus occidentalis. Western Gull. — Young Gulls 

 of this species are very confiding. Frequently individuals 

 alighted within a few feet of the boat, expecting some- 

 thing edible to be cast overboard, mistaking us for fisher- 

 men, who throw back into the water the undesirable part 

 of the catch. So ravenous were all the Gulls that a 

 scramble invariably ensued when I threw away the cotton 

 used in wiping the blood from my specimens — the suc- 

 cessful bird flying off with the coveted prize. 



This species was among the most abundant of the Gulls. 

 Individuals with immaculate white heads and necks were 

 not uncommon. 



Larus argentatus smithsonianus. American Herring 

 Gull. — Estimating from the number of specimens taken 

 on different days, this species and the following one were 

 about equal in abundance. Both were apparently com- 

 mon over the bay and ocean and along the shore. 



Larus vegae. Vega Gull. — In their excursions in and 

 out of the bay many Gulls passed over the rocky point 

 at the Seaside Laboratory, preferring to take the short cut 

 across the land rather than the safer detour over the water. 

 Several afternoons, when my assistants were short of 

 material to work upon, a series of American Herring, 

 Vega, and other Gulls were shot at this spot. 



Larus californicus. California Gull. — This is far 

 excellence the Gull of lesser size of Monterey and vicinity 

 in midwinter, sharing rank in the scale of abundance 

 with its larger congeners, glaucescens and occidentalis. 



