THE BROWN-HEADED (JILL. 417 



756. LARUS BRUNNEICEPHALUS. 



THE BROWN-HEADED GULL. 



Larus brunneicephalus, Jen/. Ma<h\ Joiirn. xii. p. 225; Hume, AV.^.s and Eggs, 

 p. (517 ; .SV-/%, .$'. F. iv. p. 20: { ; .\rm*tn>nu, A'. F. iv. p. 350; Hume $ Dai). ,v. /'. 

 vi. p. -UU ; XaiDidir*, P. Z. 8. 1878, p. 197, tig. 10; ZTmwc, & ^. viii. p. 115; 

 Legye, Bird* Ceylon, p. 1049 ; Oates, 8. F. x. p. 246. Xema brunneicephala, 

 Jerd. B. 2nd. ii. p. 832 ; Hume fy Henders. Lahore to Yark. p. 300, pi. xxxii. ; 

 Bl. B. Burm. p. 102; Wardlaw Ramsay, Ibis, 1877, p. 472. Chroicocephalus 

 brunneicephalus, David et Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 521. 



Description. Summer plumage. The whole head to a distance of about 

 an inch behind the eye smoky brown, becoming darker posteriorly and 

 turning to deep black at the junction of the head with the neck, where it 

 forms a complete collar ; feathers on the lower eyelid and a short stripe 

 over the eye white; the whole neck, upper tail-coverts and the whole lower 

 plumage pure white ; winglet and primary-coverts white, shading off into 

 ashy interiorly ; the tertiaries, secondaries, the last two primaries and the 

 upper wing- coverts clear ashy ; edge of the wing white; the smaller under 

 wing-coverts white, the remainder ashy; the first six primaries white and 

 black, the first two having the white merely at the bases, the others having 

 an increasing quantity till on the sixth merely an inch of the tip is black ; 

 the first two primaries with a white spot near the tip of each ; the white 

 on the inner webs of these six gradually and increasingly becoming tinged 

 with ashy ; seventh primary with a white shaft, the webs ashy and the 

 tip white, with a subterminal black mark on each web ; the eighth primary 

 entirely ashy, with a dusky patch near the tip of the inner web. 



I I'i uter plumage. The head becomes white with a few dusky streaks, and 

 there is a brown patch behind the ear-coverts. 



The young have the plumage in general similar to that of the adult in 

 winter ; but the head is very boldly streaked and the brown patch behind 

 the ear-coverts is absent. Later on, the streaks become fewer, the brown 

 patch is assumed, and the region of the eye is more or less dusky. The 

 tail is tipped with dark brown for a distance of 1'5 inch on the central 

 feathers ; this tipping becomes reduced in size and disappears first on the 

 outermost feathers. The white subterminal spots on the first two 

 primaries are absent and the whole of the quills arc light brown with 

 whitish bases. 



Iris stone-yellow; bill, legs, mouth and edges of the eyelids dec]) red; 

 claws horny black. 



Younger birds have the mouth salmon-colour; the basal two thirds of 

 VOL. ii. 2 E 



