586 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



mixed with grey; the hack of the head and neck 

 darkish grey ; hack and scapulars a heautiful silky 

 gull-grey ; there is a spot of white on the tip of the 

 longer scapulars; the rump and tail-coverts white; 

 ridge on the shoulder of the wing gull-grey ; lesser 

 wing-coverts hlack, narrowly margined with white ; 

 greater coverts dark grey, tipped with white; primary 

 quills hlack, except the greater part of the inner weh, 

 which is white, edged with hlack for a short way 

 from the tip ; there is a little spot of white on the 

 tip of each feather, getting hroader on the shorter 

 quills, the lighter parts of which extend to the outer 

 web also, and are a sort of light gull-grey, instead of 

 white ; secondary quills gull-grey, tipped with white ; 

 tertials black, tipped with white ; tail-feathers white, 

 broadly tipped with black, except the outer feather 

 on each side, which has only a small spot of black 

 on the iiiner web. This very much agrees with 

 Yarr ell's description of a Little Gull killed in 

 November, except that his bird has a white collar 

 at the back of the neck, and immediately beneath 

 this a broad black band, but about this time the 

 young birds are probably losing this black band, 

 much as the Kittiwake appears to do, which bird 

 the Little Gull very much resembles in its earlier 

 stages, more so than it does the other Blackheaded 

 Gulls. 



The egg is said to be olive-brown, spotted with 

 two shades of reddish brown. 



