248 LARIN^E. LARUS. 



wings a little longer than the tail ; total length from twenty 

 to twenty -five inches. In winter, the bill wine-yellow, the 

 lower mandible with an orpiment-red patch, the margins of 

 the eyelids yellow ; the feet flesh-coloured ; the back and 

 wings light bluish-grey ; quills all white at the end ; head 

 and neck white, streaked with very pale brown ; all the other 

 parts pure white. In summer, the bill gamboge-yellow, the 

 patch on the lower mandible orange-red, as are the edges of 

 the eyelids ; the head and neck pure wliite, the other parts 

 as in winter. Young with the bill brownish-black toward 

 the end, at the base pale flesh-coloured ; the general ground- 

 colour of the plumage pale yellowish-grey ; the head and 

 neck longitudinally streaked with very pale brown ; the up- 

 per parts with transverse irregular bands ; the lower con- 

 fusedly mottled and barred with pale brown and yellowish- 

 white ; the quills greyish-white, irregularly marked with pale 

 brown ; the tail greyish-white, spotted and barred with pale 

 brown. 



Male, 24, 50, 17*, If, 2*, 2f, 2 T ^ 



Dr Edmondston, who first observed this species in Britain, 

 described it in March 1823, proposing for it the name of Larus 

 islandicus, which he had previously given to Larus glaucus. 

 With us it is only a winter visitant, its summer haunts being 

 in the Arctic regions. 



Iceland Gull. 



Larus islandicus, Edmondston, Mem. Wem. Soc. iv. 506. 

 Larus arcticus, MacGillivray, Mem. Wern. Soc. v. 268. 

 Larus leucopterus,Temm. Man. d'Ornith. iv. 467. Larus leu- 

 copterus, White-winged Gull, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, v. 



307. LARUS CANUS. GREEN-BILLED GULL. 



Bill an inch and a half along the ridge, which is gently 

 decurved toward the end, five-twelfths high at the angle, 

 which is little prominent ; tarsus two inches long ; wings 

 surpassing the tail by two inches, In winter, the bill grey- 

 ish-green shaded into ochre-yellow at the end; margins of 

 eyelids brown ; feet deep greenish-grey ; back and wings light 

 bluish-grey ; the quills largely tipped with white, the outer 

 five in part black, two of them with a large white spot to- 

 ward the end ; head and hind-neck white, with brownish- 

 grey streaks and spots ; all the other parts pure white. In 

 summer, the bill greenish-yellow, margins of eyelids vermi- 

 lion ; head and neck pure white, the other parts as in winter. 

 Young with the bill brownish- black, flesh-coloured at the 

 base; edges of eyelids dusky; feet purplish flesh-colour j 



