THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 53 



51 Larus argentatus Pontoppidan. 



Herring Gull. 

 PLATE 4, FIG. 2. 



Adults. Length, 23-26. Wing, 16.50-17.50. Above, back and wings deep 

 pearl gray ; rest of plumage white, except the six outer primaries, which are 

 more or less black terminally, all but the outer two tipped with white. Younger 

 birds have the head and neck streaked with dusky. 



Young in first winter, sooty gray ; throat and under tail-coverts streaked 

 with white ; back edged with buff ; wing feathers and tail, blackish. 



Abundant winter visitant along the coast and up the rivers ; arrives 

 September 25th, departs April 15th. Some remain at Philadelphia 

 until April 30th, and at Cape May until May 15th. 



The Herring Gull is our most abundant Gull all winter long. It 

 may be seen on the Delaware as far north as Philadelphia, and less 

 abundantly farther up, and also on the Hudson and Passaic, flying 

 about over the water searching for any scraps of food that may bo 

 floating past. Old and young in various stages of white and dusky 

 plumage are mingled together. On the coast, where clams are washed 

 up along the beach, the Gulls gather by thousands to feed upon them. 

 Seizing a clam in its bill, one of the birds will ascend about twenty 

 feet, and then let it drop on the hard beach, where it breaks, so that 

 the contents are exposed. As it breaks there is often a rush of more 

 lazy individuals, who not infrequently make off with the prize, amid 

 a general chorus of harsh guttural cries. Frequently we see the Gulls 

 sitting in numbers on the ocean, floating peacefully just beyond the 

 breakers, or at dusk they may be seen gathering to roost back on the 

 sandy patches of the salt meadows, their white breasts conspicuous in 

 the rays of the setting sun. 



During migration or after storms they may sometimes be seen 

 inland, flying high over head. One was taken at Whippany, Morris 

 county (Thurber), May 2d, 1886, and one was seen at Budd's Lake, 

 September, 1903 (Caskey). Mr. Babson 1 records one taken at Prince- 

 ton, March 17th, 1900. 



These beautiful birds deserve every measure of protection. They 

 are desirable scavengers in our harbors, and do no harm whatever, 

 while they are of absolutely no use to the thoughtless gunner who 

 kills them. Their use for millinery purposes is happily forbidden 

 by law. 



1 Birds of Princeton, p. 35. 



