Gulls SWIMMING BIRDS. 



American Herring Gull : Larus argentatus 

 smithsonianus . 



Winter Gull. 

 PLATE XIV. FIGS. 1, 2, AND 5. 



Length : 24-25 inches. 



Male and Female: Winter dress: above pure light gray, head and 

 neck streaked with dusky, under parts and tail white, the latter 

 having an imperfect dusky bar ; whig coverts mottled with gray. 

 Bill yellow. 



Season : Common winter resident, coming in late October and remain- 

 ing until March. 



Breeds : From the Great Lakes and Maine northward. 



Nest : Hollow in the ground lined with a little grass or a few seaweeds. 



Eggs : 2-3, ground colour dirty white, tinted with pale blue or green 

 deepening to brown, with numerous brown and black spots and 

 markings. 



Eange : North America generally, in winter south to Cuba and lower 

 California. 



The common Gull, both of coast and interior, seen in 

 great flocks about the beaches, and on the flats and sand bars 

 at low water. Prom middle autumn until the birds in 

 general are returning in the spring, these Gulls enliven the 

 solitude of the shore with their chatter, and their shrill^ 

 high-keyed voices can be heard above the waves and storm. 



Beside being beautifully plumed and decidedly picturesque 

 objects in the marine picture, they have an economic value 

 which appeals even to the most unsentimental minds. They 

 are excellent scavengers, taking from creeks, bays, and 

 rivers, as well as from the lakes and open sea, much refuse 

 that becomes unsavoury if washed ashore and left to decom- 

 pose. 



Laughing Gull : Larus atricilla. 



PLATE XV. FIG. 3. 

 Length : 16.50 inches. 



Male and Female : Head and neck dark slate ; bill carmine. Back 



slate-colour, divided from the head by the white of the neck. 



All under parts white ; also tail coverts. Legs and feet dull 



reddish. Young, upper parts gray tinted with various browns, 



270 



