44 BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 



mottled with pale brown ; breast and lower parts, gray ; tail, white, mottled 

 with brown. Length, 27 inches. 



HAB. Arctic regions, south in winter in North America to the Great Lakes 

 and Long Island. North Pacific. 



Nest of seaweed and moss placed on the ground, or rocks, or even on blocks 

 of ice. 



Eggs, two or three, varying in color from grayish-brown to white. 



During the winter months the " Burgomaster," as this species is 

 usually named, may be seen roaming around the shores of Lake 

 Ontario, seeking what it may devour, and it is not very scrupulous 

 either as regards quantity or quality. In the Fauna Boreali Ameri- 

 cana, it is described as being " notoriously greedy and voracious, 

 preying not only on fish and birds but on carrion of every kind. 

 One which was killed in Capt. Ross' expedition disgorged an auk 

 when it was struck, and on dissection was found to have another in 

 its stomach." 



In March, when the days begin to lengthen and the ice begins to 

 soften, these large gulls rise from Lake Ontario, and soaring around 

 in wide circles at a great height, pass away towards the north. 



In the spring of 1884, a specimen was shot near Toronto by Mr. 

 George Guest of that city. 



On the 25th March, 1889, a fine female specimen which had been 

 shot on the Island at Toronto, was brought to Mr. Cross, and on the 

 8th December, of the same year, he received another which was shot 

 off the Queen's Wharf. 



This is one of the largest and most powerful birds of the family. 

 It is of circumpolar distribution, and is said to be one of the noisiest 

 of those which gather together during the breeding season in the far 

 north. 



Regarding it, Mr. Nelson says : " The solitary islands of Behring 

 Sea and all its dreary coast line are familiar to this great gull. In 

 summer it occurs from the Aleutian Islands north to the farthest 

 points reached by the hardy navigators in the Arctic Ocean adjoining. 

 According to Murdoch, it is numerous at Point Barrow. At St. 

 Michael's they appear each year from the 12th to the 30th April, 

 following the leads in the ice as they open from the south." 



"They are the first of the spring birds to occur in the north, and 

 their hoarse cries are welcome sounds to the seal hunter as he wanders 

 over the ice-fields far out to sea in early spring. 



" They become more and more numerous until they are very com- 

 mon. They wander restlessly along the coast until the ponds open 

 on the marshes near the sea, and then, about the last half of May, 



