208 



LONG-WINGED SWIMMERS — LONGIPENNES. 



u 



described by Gould as Lams hrachifrhynrlnis, from Kaintschatka. Examples of tln' 

 present species were obtained by Captain Smith, Aug. 15, 18G8. 



;Mr. Henry W. Elliott makes the following remarks in regard to this species as 

 observed by him in the Prybilof Islands : — 



"This beautiful Gull, one of the most elegant of birds while on the wing, seems 

 to favor these islands with its jn'esence to the exclusion of other lands, coming by 

 tens of thousands to breed. It is especially abiuulant on St. George's Island. It is 

 certainly by far the most attractive of all the Gulls, its short, symmetrical bill, large 

 hazel eye, with crimson lids, and bright red feet, contrasting richly with the snowy- 

 white plumage of the head, neck, and under parts. Like the Larus tjlaucus, it remains 

 about tlie islands tlie whole season, coming on the cliffs for the jau'pose of nest- 

 building, breeding by the 9th of INIay, and deserting the bluffs when the young art' 

 fully fledged and ready for flight, early in October. 



" It is unich more cautious and prudent than the * A^ rie,' for its nests are placed 

 on almost inaccessible shelves and points, so tliat seldom can a nest be reached unless 

 a person is lowered down to it by a rope passed over tlie cliff. Nest-building is coiu- 

 nu'nced by this bird early in May, and not usually cfompleted much before the 1st 

 of July. It iises dry grass and moss, cemented with mud, which it gathers at tlie 

 margins of the small fresh-water sloughs and ponds scattered over the islands. Tlie 

 nest is solidly and neatly put up, the parent birds working in the most diligent and 

 amiable manner. 



"Two eggs are the usual number, although occasionally three will be found in 

 the nest. If these eggs are removed, the female will renew them in the course of 

 another week or ten days. The eggs are of the size and sluqie of those of the com- 

 mon Hen, colored with a dark gray grouiul, spotted and blotched with sepia-brown 

 patches and dots. Once in a while an egg will have on its smaller end a large nundicr 

 of suffused blood-red spots. 



"Both parents assist in the labor of incubation, Avhich lasts from twenty -four 

 to twenty-six days. The chick comes out with a pure white downy coat, ami pale 

 whitish-gi.iy bill and feet, resting helpless in the nest while its feathers grow. During 

 this period it is a comical-looking object. At this age tlie natives capture them and 

 pet them, leaving a nundier every year scattered througli the village, where they be- 

 come very tame ; and it is not until fall, when cold weather sets in, and makes them 

 restless, that they leave their captors and fly away to sea." 



Mr. Elliott further states that this bird is very constant in its S])ecific characters. 

 Among thousands of them he has never observed any variation in the coloration of 

 the bills, feet, or plumage of the mature bird, with one exception. There is a variety, 

 seldom seen, in which tlie feet are nearly yellow, or more yellow than red, and tin' 

 edge of the eyelid is black instead of scarlet ; there is also a dark jjatch back of cmcIi 

 eye. The color of the feet may be only an accidental individual peculiarity; tlic 

 dark eye-patch and absence of bright color from the eyelids may depend ujiou llir 

 season. 



Eggs of this species (Smithsonian Institution, No. 16,S2()) coUcctecJ by Mr. Elliott 

 from St. Paul's Island, in the Pehring Sea, have an average length of 2.20 inches, 

 and a breadth of 1.55. Their ground-color is a dull bnnvnisli wliite, varying to ;i 

 light drab, with intermediate shades of grayish buff, marked witli blotches of a sepiii- 

 brown color and of raw lunber ; these are underlain by two shades of cloudings of a 

 lilac-gray. Three eggs in my own collection measure 2.10 inches by 1.02 ; 2.22 liy 

 1.68 ; 2.25 by l.GG. The ground-color of two is tinged with gri'enisli, and that of tlie 

 other with a reddish hue. 



