LARIDjE. 615 



eggs are placed on the shingle above high-water 

 mark, where the full power of the sun falls, and the 

 other that the nests have been found occupying the 

 pinnacles of rocks and the projecting ledges of cliffs 

 on the sea-shore. 



" The adult bird has the bill yellowish white, the 

 angle of the lower mandible reddish orange ; irides 

 straw-yellow ; all the plumage nearly white, but with 

 a tinge of skim-milk-blue over the back and wing- 

 coverts ; primaries white ; the legs and feet are flesh- 

 colour." By the peculiarity of the markings of the 

 wing-coverts and primaries, the present species and 

 the smaller, but equally rare, Iceland Gull may be 

 immediately distinguished from any of our more 

 common Gulls, all of which have more or less black 

 or dark dusky brown on the longer quill-feathers. 

 " The young bird has the bill pale brown at the 

 base, the point dark horn-colour; irides dark; the 

 head, neck, back and wing-coverts a mixture of pale 

 ash-brown and dull white ; scapulars and tertials 

 transversely barred with pale brown and tipped with 

 greyish white ; primary and secondary quills uniform 

 pale yellowish grey; upper and under tail- coverts 

 dull white, barred with pale brown ; the tail-feathers 

 uniform yellowish brown ; the wings only reaching 

 to the end of the tail ; the chin, throat and breast 

 dull white, mottled with pale brown ; the belly more 

 uniform in colour and greyish brown ; legs and feet 

 livid-brown." These descriptions are from Yarrell. 



3 G2 



