THE RING-BILLED GULL. 499 



large groups drop into the water near by, and whiten its 

 surface for some distance; others continue their flight far- 

 ther away, while not a few still linger near to watch the fate 

 of their treasures, and keep up an uneasy chattering di- 

 rectly overhead. The nests on the island are found to be 

 almost numberless, some of them being so close together, 

 that the sitting birds must almost touch each other. In 

 the style of the nest, the shape, color and number of the 

 eggs, and the color of the newly-hatched young, there is 

 the greatest resemblance to the nidification of the Herring 

 Gull; only, in accordance with the diminished size of the 

 birds, both nests and eggs are much smaller; the latter 

 being 2.07-2.50 x 1.63-1.70. On the whole, the marking of 

 these eggs tends more to blotches than is the case with the 

 eggs of the near but larger relative. Also the bills and feet 

 of the young are noticeably darker. Passing by many 

 nests containing newly-hatched young, and others with 

 eggs, through the shells of which the peeping chicks have 

 already thrust their bills, one may gather a sufficient sup- 

 ply of eggs for study, scarcely affecting the number on the 

 whole. 



The full-grown young, on through its years of gradual 

 change into the maturity of coloration, bears a close resem- 

 blance to the Herring Gull of corresponding age; in fact, 

 in shades and markings is about identical. The resem- 

 blance of these two species also holds good in respect to 

 the mature birds in their annual changes of plumage. 



The Gulls proper are a well-marked subdivision of the 

 Gull family in general, that family including Jaegers, or 

 Skua Gulls, Gulls proper, Terns and Skimmers. Some of 

 the differentitating characters of the Gulls proper are: 

 the rather long, deep and much compressed bill, well 

 hooked toward the point, with peculiar enlargement at the 



