

LARUS 



and has not been recorded from Mongolia or China ; has once 

 been obtained in India ; an accidental straggler to Bermuda 

 and the eastern United States (Long Island). 



Frequents inland waters and marshes, feeding on small fish 

 and insects. Its flight is graceful and easy, and its note is a 

 laughing kerr, arrr, arrr arr, which it utters when disturbed. 

 It breeds in large companies, in marshy localities inland, con- 

 structing a rather loosely formed nest of flag-leaves, grass, 

 straws, &c., which is placed on almost floating islands, and 

 late in May or early in June lays 3 to 4 eggs, which are not 

 unlike some varieties of the Arctic Tern, greenish olive in 

 ground-colour with blackish grey shell-markings and dark 

 brown surface spots and blotches, in size measuring about 1*66- 

 by 119. 



I have not described the young of these Black-headed Gulls,, 

 as they all resemble the adult bird in winter dress, but have 

 the upper parts brown or marked with brown. The sexes are 

 alike. 



1140. COMMON GULL. 

 LARUS CANUS. 



Larus canus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 224 (1766) ; Naum. x. p. 301, Taf. 

 261 ; Hewitson, ii. p. 495, pi. cxxxviii. ; Gould, B. of E. v. pi. 437 ; 

 id. B. of Gt. Brit. v. pi. 60 ; Dresser, viii. p. 381, pi. 600 ; David and 

 Oust. Ois. Chine, p. 517 ; Seebohm, B. Jap. Emp. p. 293 ; Saunders,. 

 Cat. B. Br. Mus. xxv. p. 277 ; id. Manual, p. 671 ; Tacz. F. 0. Sib. 

 0. p. 1033 ; Ridgway, p. 33 ; Lilford, vi. p. 49, pi. 22 ; L. niveus r 

 Pall. (nee. Bodd.), Zoog. Ross. As. ii. p. 320, Tab. 64 (1811) ; Tacz.. 

 F. 0. Sib. 0. p. 1034. 



Gotland cendre, French ; Gavinote, Span. ; Gavina, Ital.; Sturm - 

 mowe, German ; Kleine Zeemeeuw, Dutch ; Stormaage, Dan. ; 

 Fiskemaage, Norweg. ; Fiskmdse, Swed. ; Kalalokki, Finn. - r 

 Sisaja-Tschaika, Klusha, Russ. 



ad. (Sweden). Head, neck, tail-coverts, tail, "and entire under parts 

 pure white ; mantle delicate light French-grey ; 1st primary black, with 

 a broad white bar close to the tip, the 2nd with a smaller bar, the 3rd with 

 merely a white spot near the tip ; inner primaries French-grey with black 

 bars and white tips ; secondaries with broad white tips ; bill greenish 

 yellow ; legs greenish grey ; iris golden brown, in very old birds greyish 

 white ; orbital ring vermilion. Cnlmen 1'8, wing 14'0, tail 5*5, tarsus 

 T85 inch. In winter the head and nape are streaked with dull brown. 



