194 BRITISH BIRDS. 



Length 14*25, wing I2 f oo. Young; mantle and wing- 

 coverts mottled with blackish-brown ; nape dusky ; tail 

 with a terminal band of dusky-brown ; bill black ; feet 

 brownish. 



Abundant on our coasts all the year, breeding com- 

 monly on the rocky portions. Eggs : 2 or 3 ; varying 

 from stone-colour to olive-buff, spotted and blotched with 

 chestnut brown and lilac-grey; 2*10 by 1*55; laid in a 

 nest of seaweed on rock -ledges. 



GENUS CLXXXIX. LARUS, Linnaeus (1766). 



Bill not so long as head, strong, upper mandible 



decurved at tip, gonys with a prominent angle. Tail 



moderate, square. Tarsus moderately long ; hind toe 



present, but small and elevated ; front toes fully webbed. 



338. Larus glaueus, Fabr. GLAUCOUS GULL. 

 Hab. Northern Palaearctic and N.E. Nearctic regions. 

 An irregular winter visitor, mostly occurring on the 

 Scotch coasts and the east side of England. 



339. Larus leueopterus, Faber. ICELAND GULL. 

 Hab. Arctic America and Greenland. In winter west- 

 ward to Iceland and N.W. Europe. 



Another white-winged species, but distinguished from 

 the last by its smaller size. Length 2o f oo .to 21*00; wing 

 i6'oo. Occurs irregularly in winter. 



340. Larus argentatus, Gmel. HERRING-GULL. 



Hab. Western Europe and N.E. America. 



Adult : mantle and wings light grey ; secondaries with 

 white tips ; outer primaries black with white tips and sub- 

 terminal spots and grey margins to basal portions of inner 



