312 BIRDS. PALMIPEDES. 



which terminates at the occiput ; length of the tarsus one inch 

 and a half; outer quill-feathers with white shafts. 13^ inches 

 long. Inhabits Europe. B. Tern. Man. 785. 



L. m'mutus, Pallas. Pigmy Gull. Length of the tarsus 11 lines; 

 shafts of the primary quills brown ; wing -feathers tipt with pure 

 white ; legs, when extended, reaching only to three-fourths of 

 the length of the tail ; hind toe very small, with an inconspicu- 

 ous claw. 10 inches long. Inhabits Europe Tern. Man. 787- 



L. Sabini, Tern. (Xema, Leach.) Sabine's Gull. The thigh feather- 

 ed to within three-eighths of an inch of the knee ; length of the 

 tarsus 1 inch and a half; the hinder toe small, and placed high. 

 12 to 14 inches long. Inhabits Greenland Shaw, xiii. pi. 20. 



Gen. 6. LESTRIS, Illig. Stercorariuz, Briss. Larus, Lin. 



Bill middle-sized, hard, strong, cylindrical, sharp-edged, com- 

 pressed, and hooked at the tip ; upper mandible covered with 

 a cere, the lower angulated ; nostrils near the apex of the bill, 

 diagonal, straight, closed behind ; legs slender, naked above 

 the knees ; tarsi long ; tbe three anterior toes completely 

 webbed, the hind one nearly obliterated, and on a level with 

 those before ; claws large and much hooked ; tail slightly 

 rounded, with the two middle feathers elongated. 



The birds which compose this genus are much bolder and intrepid than the gulls, 

 which they persecute, and, compelling them to disgorge their food, catch it with 

 great dexterity as it falls in the air. They likewise fasten on the carcasses of whales, 

 and sometimes eat shell-fish. Their principal abode is in the northern regions ; and 

 they may be distinguished at a considerable distance by their jerking and leaping 

 mode of flight There is no very marked distinction between the sexes, but age im- 

 prints on their plumage very different shades of colouring, of which bistre-brown and 

 white are the prevailing. The young are very unlike the full grown individuals. 



L. catarractes, Tern. (Larus catarractes, Lin.) Brown or Skua 

 Gull. Head and region of the eyes deep brown ; neck and low- 

 er parts reddish gray, shaded with brown ; back and scapulars 

 dull red ; quill-feathers white the half of their length, the other 

 half deep brown ; tail white ; shape and dimensions of the bill 

 similar to those of the same part in the herring gull ; the pro- 

 jecting tail-feathers broad to the end ; inconspicuous asperities 

 on the hinder part of the tarsus, which is about two inches and 

 a half in length. 20 to 21 inches long. Inhabits Northern Eu- 

 rope. B. Lenin's Brit. Birds, vi. pi. 211. 



L. pomarinus, Tern. Pomarine Skua. Size and form of the bill 

 as in the Larus eburneus; the two long feathers of the tail broad to 

 the end, where they are rounded ; marked asperities on the pos- 

 terior part of the tarsus, which measures 1 inch 11 lines. 15 or 

 16 inches long. Inhabits Northern Europe Shaw, xiii. pi. 24. 



L. parastticus, Tern. Parasitic Gull. Face, top of the head, occi- 

 put, back, wings, and tail, uniform deep brown ; feathers of the 

 neck long, subulate, and of a golden yellow colour ; throat, fore part 

 of the neck, belly, and abdomen, white ; a broad collar on the 



