LARIN^E. LARUS. 243 



Temm. Man. d'Ornith. ii. 787. Gavia minuta, Little Mew, 

 MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, v. 



GENUS L. LARUS. GULL. 



The Gulls, properly so called, are much larger than the 

 Mews, and distinguished from them by their stouter bill, of 

 which the prominence at the junction of the crura of the 

 lower mandible is more conspicuous. Upper mandible with 

 the dorsal line straight for half its length, then arcuato-decur- 

 vate, the nasal sinuses rather short, wide, and feathered, the 

 nostrils medio-basal, linear-oblong, wider anteriorly, covered 

 above and behind with a sloping thin-edged plate, the edges 

 very thin, direct, the tip narrow, obtuse, a little prolonged ; 

 lower mandible narrower, much compressed, with the inter- 

 crural space very long and extremely narrow, the commis- 

 sure forming a prominent angle with the dorsal line, which 

 is ascending and somewhat concave, the edges very thin ; 

 the tip narrow, but obtuse. Mouth of moderate width, open- 

 ing to beneath the eyes; tongue fleshy, rather narrow, deep- 

 ly channelled above, tapering to a narrowly rounded point ; 

 oesophagus very wide throughout, its walls thin ; stomach 

 rather small, elliptical, muscular, with large radiated ten- 

 dons, and extremely dense thick epithelium, marked with 

 strong longitudinal ridges ; intestine rather long and narrow ; 

 coeca very small, narrow, cylindrical. Eyes rather small, 

 eyelids feathered, with bare crenulate margins. Legs of 

 moderate length, slender ; tibia bare for a short space ; tar- 

 sus rather short, somewhat compressed, with numerous much 

 curved scutella ; hind toe very small and elevated ; fore toes 

 of moderate length, slender, the fourth a little shorter than 

 the third, all scutellate, and connected by reticulated mem- 

 branes, having their margin a little concave ; claws small, 

 slightly arcuate, somewhat compressed, toward the end de- 

 pressed, obtuse. Plumage very full, close, soft, and blend- 

 ed ; on the back and wings somewhat compact ; wings very 

 long, rather broad, pointed ; the primaries nearly straight, 

 tapering, obtuse, the first and second longest ; tail rather 

 short, even, or slightly rounded, of twelve broad feathers. 



The Gulls are scarcely well separated from the Mews. 

 Species of the genus occur in all climates, from the arctic to 



