LA BUS. 303 



brown, darker behind and blackish at the nape, where the hood 

 terminates abruptly against a narrow white collar running round 

 the back and sides of the neck, but the blackish-brown area is 

 carried far down the fore neck till it meets the paler greyish-brown 

 of the lower neck, upper breast, and sides of breast, the white 

 collar also fading into the same; mantle, including rump, dark 

 brown ; quills blackish, all except the first 3 or 4 primaries white- 

 tipped; some white on the edge of the wing, but wing-lining brown 

 like the mantle ; middle of breast, abdomen, tail-coverts above and 

 below, and tail white. 



In winter the white collar is wanting, the head paler and 

 mottled whitish, chin white, throat and fore neck mottled white 

 and brown. Generally some traces of a dark subterminal bar are 

 seen on the tail. 



Young birds have the upper plumage lighter brown, with broad 

 \vhity-bro\vn fringes to the scapulars, tertiaries, and wing-coverts, 

 and the tail is dark brown. The brown on the tail diminishes 

 gradually and becomes a subterminal band in birds with adult 

 plumage otherwise. 



Bill pale greenish drab, the tip red, divided from the green by a 

 black bar ; irides brown ; legs and feet pale yellowish drab (Butler). 

 In younger birds the bill is dusky, tipped with orange, and the legs 

 brownish plumbeous. 



Length of males 19 ; tail 5 ; wing 14 ; tarsus 2 ; bill from gape 

 2-6. Females are rather smaller. 



Distribution. Common on the coasts of the Lower Red Sea, of 

 East Africa as far south as Zanzibar, and of Southern Arabia, 

 Baluchistan, and Sind. A single individual was seen by Hume at 

 Bombay, but this Gull, though very abundant on the Makran coast, 

 becomes scarce east of the mouths of the Indus. 



Habits, #c. This is a marine species and has not been noticed 

 inland. It is in many places very tame and collects around fishing- 

 boats to feed on fish offal, even coming when the fishermen call 

 and make a sign of throwing something out. Large flocks are 

 often seen resting on the sea. It breeds on small rocky islands, 

 and Butler obtained many eggs in August from Astola near Pasni, 

 Makrau. The eggs are whitish stone to brownish buff in colour, 

 freely but not very thickly spotted with dark brown and pale lilac, 

 and measure about 2 - 27 by 1*58. 



1493. Lams gelastes. The Slender-billed Gull. 



Larus gelastes, Licht., Thienem. Fortpjlanz. Vog. Eur. pt. v, p. 22 

 (1838) ; Blanf. Eastern Persia, ii, p. 291 ; Hume, Cat. no. 981 

 quat. ; Barnes, Birds Bom. p. 426 ; Gates in Hume's N. fy E. 

 2nd ed. iii, p. 294 ; Saunders, Cat. B. M. xxv, p. 230. 



Xema lambruschini, Bonap. Icon. Faun. Ital., Ucc. pp. 135, 136 *, 

 pi. 45 (1840). 



Larus lambruschini, Hume, 8. F. i, p. 274 ; Butler, S. F. v, p. 286. 



Coloration. Head, neck, under surface, upper tail-coverts, and 

 tail white; all, .except the head, suffused with a roseate tinge that 



