406 LARID^E 



In Scotland, specimens have been taken in Banffshire,* 

 the Isle of Mull, and the Shetlands. 



This elegant species can be identified from other small 

 ' hooded ' Gulls by its forked tail. Its build is slender, 

 somewhat like that of the Terns with which it often asso- 

 ciates, and like these birds, it shows the same fearlessness 

 in the presence of man or dog. 



Flight. Its buoyant, elastic, and remarkably graceful 

 movements on the wing may also be compared to those 

 of the Terns. 



Food. Small fishes form the staple diet, but various 

 other creatures are eaten, such as crabs, shrimps, worms, 

 grubs, and insects. 



Voice. The note is shrill, resembling the syllables Hick, 

 klick, klick. 



Nest. The nest is a simple structure, composed of dry 

 grasses, rudely matted together. It is generally situated in 

 lacustrine districts, or on swamps adjacent to the sea : the 

 eggs, two in number, and of a greenish-brown ground- 

 colour, blotched with darker shades, are sometimes laid on 

 the bare ground among loose stones, in the vicinity of a 

 Tern-colony. 



Geographical distribution. The breeding-h aunts of this 

 Gull are practically circumpolar. In 1818, the late Sir 

 Edward Sabine found it nesting in Western Greenland, in 

 lat. 75 29' N., long. 60 9' W. On migration in autumn 

 and winter, it travels along the Atlantic sea-board to about 

 lat. 30 N., while on the Pacific side it can be traced as 

 far south as Peru. 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. Head arid upper neck, 

 dull brownish-grey, limited below by a black collar ; lower 

 neck, breast, abdomen, and tail, white ; back and wings, 

 ' french ' grey ; secondaries and five inner primaries, almost 

 white ; remaining primaries, black, broadly tipped -with 

 white. 



Adult female nuptial. Similar to the male plumage. 



Adult winter, male and female. Top of head, white ; 

 back of head, streaked with grey ; hind-neck, washed with 

 greyish-black. 



Immature, male and female. Back and wings, greyish 



