SYNOPSIS OF ORDERS AND FAMILIES. 



LOON. 



Family 2. LOONS. GAVIID^E. 



Toes four, webbed; toe-nails not broad and flat; tail present. 

 Family 3. AUKS, MURRES, AND PUFFINS. ALCIDyE. 

 Toes three, webbed; toe-nails sharp; tail present. 



ORDER II. GULLS, TERNS, JAEGERS, ETC. LONGIPENNES. 



i , "* (3 families, 42 species, 1 subspecies.) 



Birds generally seen on the wing, as a rule, over water. Bill strong, 

 thick; hooked in the Gulls and Jaegers; sharply pointed in the 

 Terns; often colored in part yellow or red; wings very long, the outer 

 feathers much the longest; tail usually short and square in the Gulls, 

 long and forked in the Terns; toes webbed. Color usually pearly gray 

 above, white below in adult Gull and Terns; Jaegers and many young 

 Gulls are dark. 



PARASITIC JAEGER. 



Family 4. SKUAS AND JAEGERS. STERCORARIIM. 



Toes four; three front ones webbed; bill with swollen, hooked tip, its base with a 

 scaly shield. 



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