308 ICELAND GULL. 



outer webs ; feet and legs appear to have been flesli- 

 colour ; the bill with a pale tip, across the angle 

 brownish black, base pale flesh-colour. " In the 

 young state the ground colour of the plumage is 

 greyish white, barred or spotted with pale brown. 



THE ICELAND GULL, LARUS ICELANDICUS, Ed- 

 mondttone. Iceland or Lesser White-winged Gull of 

 British authors. This species, so very closely allied 

 to the last as not to be easily distinguished except 

 by its lesser size and proportionally larger wings 

 (while some differences have been observed in its 

 habits), was also noticed by Mr. Edmondstone as an 

 occasional visitant to Shetland; a few specimens have 

 have been killed on the English shores ; Mr. Thomp- 

 son has observed it in Ireland, and the same gen- 

 tleman has noticed its appearance on the south-west 

 coast of Scotland. * We have occasionally seen 

 what we considered to be this bird, on the shores 

 of the Sol way, and a young specimen before us was 

 killed in the Firth of Forth. Like the last, how- 

 ever, it is also an Arctic bird, and was met with by 

 most of the Arctic expeditious. It was found breed- 

 ing in company with the glaucous gull on the face 

 of the same precipice, but at a much less height and 

 in much greater numbers. It is also found in Ice- 

 land, and Faber has given an account of its habits 

 there ; it is a tame bird, following the boats of the 

 fishermen on shore, to feed on the refuse thrown 

 from them. 



* Mag. of Nat. Hist. 



