544 THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 



small circuit of the North Atlantic Ocean. Innumerable colonk 

 nest on Iceland, the Faroes, Orkneys, Hebrides, and other islam 

 of the Scottish coasts. Thus, according to Seebohm, no less thz 

 150,000 pairs nest on Sulasgeir or Sulesgeir, one of the northern- 

 most of the Scottish islands. Smaller colonies of breeding birds 

 are also found on the American islands on the opposite coast of 

 the Atlantic. 



Gull Larus. Of these birds it may in truth be said that their 

 pinions carry them wheresoever the briny waters of ocean flow 

 around the countries of the earth. The number of species is about 

 fifty, of manifold variety and extraordinaty richness in numbers of 

 individuals. One of these, which may be described as the rarest 

 and most beautiful of all Larus rossii by one of its representa- 

 tive, shot on this island, has acquired the right of an honorary 

 citizen of Germany. 



348. Glaucous Gull [GROSSE EISMOVB]. 

 LARUS GLAUCUS, Brunnich. 1 



Heligolandish : Isskubb = Ice Gull. 

 Larus glaucus. Naumann, x. 350. 



Glaucous Gull. Dresser, viii. 433. 



Mouette burgermeister. Temminck, Manuel, ii. 757, iv. 467. 



Old birds of this species, with the plumage of the back of soft 

 whitish grey, are met with here extremely rarely, such specimens 

 invariably displaying on the head and back of the neck the grey 

 streaks characteristic of the winter plumage. In the summer dress, 

 in which these parts are also white like the rest of the plumage, 

 they have not yet been seen or killed here. On the other hand, 

 young birds, in light greyish brown plumage, are shot here rather 

 frequently every year in late autumn and winter. 



The Glaucous Gull breeds on all the islands and coasts around 

 the Pole up to 82 N. lat. 



349. Iceland Gull [KLEINE EISMOVE]. 

 LARUS LEUCOPTERUS, Faber. 



Heligolandish : Liitj Isskubb = Little Ice Gull. 



Larus hucopterus. Naumann, x. 367. 



Iceland Gull. Dresser, viii. 439. 



Mouette leucoptere. Temminck, Manuel, iv. 467. 



This smaller, much prettier, and slenderer repetition of the 

 preceding species is of the utmost rarity on this island; one 



1 Larus glaucus, Fabricius. 



