Ihl i 



222 



LONG-WINGED SWIMMERS — LONGIPENNES. 





of its characters occur to us ; nauicly ; (I) That it may be a hybrid betweeu L. argcntatm and /y, 

 li.acniitems ; or (2) tliat it may reiirosent extreme old age of the former. The first of these hypo- 

 theses is rendered extremely improbable i'roui the fact that Mr. Kumlien found this bird breeding; 

 ill considerable numbers near the liead of Cumberl.'ind Gulf; while the second is disposed of liy 

 the circumstance that at least one of the known specimens is in immature plumage, but still pos- 

 sessing gray instead of black (piill-markings, while specimens in the first plumage were alsn 

 obtained by Mr. Kumlien. 



Mr. Kumlieu's account of tliis species (which he erroneously identified with L. glaucescens) is 

 as follows : — 



" So far as I am aware, this is the fii-st instance on record of this Jjird being taken on the Atlan- 

 tic coast. They are ([uite coinmon in the upper Cumberland waters, where they l)reed. Arrivcil 

 with the opening of the water^ and soon began nesting, Tiie nest was placed on the shelving loiks 

 on high clitfs. Two pairs nested very near our harbor ; but tlie Kaveus tore the nest down and 

 destroyed the eggs. Only a single well-ideutititMl egg was secured. Tiiis Gull is unknown to 

 Governor Fencker on the Greenland coast. Tiu'y remained about the harbor a great deal, and 

 were often observed making away witii such scraps as the cook had tlirown overboard ; wciv 

 shy, and ditlicult to shoot. Full-grown young of tiiis species were shot in tin; tirst days of Septem- 

 ber ; these were even darker than the young of L. anjcntatus, the primaries and tail being vcnj 

 ncaiiij hlach." ' 



Larus Nelsoni. 



NELSON'S GTTLL. 



Larus Nelsmii, IIknsu. The; Auk, A''ol. I. July, 1S84, 250. 



Sp. Char. Adult (No. 972.-);?, U. S. Nat. Mus., St. Michael's, Alaska, June 20, 1880; E. W. 

 Nelson) : Mantle pale pearl-blue, exactly as hi L. anjcntatus. Primaries same color as the nianth', 

 but broadly tipped with white, and the outer five marked with deep brownish gray, as follows : 

 First (piill with the outer web deep brownish gray to within three inches of the tip (next to the 

 shaft), the inner web rather lighter, more ashy, gray, for about the same distance, but broadly 

 edged with white (the gray about .40 and the white .80 of an inch in width), this white confluent 

 with that of the terminal portion. On the second cjuill the white tip is 2.40 inches long, the deep 

 brownish gray space being 2.30 inches long next tlie shaft, but niuidi more (some 4.50 inches) 

 along the edge, the very oblii[ue anterior outline being very shai'idy defined against the pale pearl- 

 blue of the basal portion. The third quill has the tij) white for .itOofauinch (measured along 

 the shaft), the outer web then deep brownish gray for 2.70 iiudies ; the inner web is jiale pearl- 

 gray, like the basal portion of the outer web, but at about 2.50 inches from the tip it fades gradually 

 into white — which color, however, is interrupted near the end of the quill by an indistin>;t l)iii,id 

 spot of mottled grayish, extending quite across tli'i web The fourth (juill is white for about th(! 

 terminal inch, the outer web then brownish gray for 1.10 inches along the shaft and 2.50 inclics 

 along the edge, the pearl-gray of the remaining portion perceptibly puler next the brownish gray 

 space ; the inner web has a very indistinct spot of brownish gray about opposite the end of tin; 

 dark space on the outer web, the succeeding 1.40 inches being nearly white, but changing gradn.illy 

 into the light pearl-gray of the remaining portion. The fifth quill fades terminally into while at 

 about 1.80 niches from the tip, but the white portion marked on both webs by a spot of brownish 

 gray ; that on the outer web 1.80 inches long on the edge of the quill, but less than half as nunh 

 along the inner margin ; that on the iinier web about .50 of an inch broad, and much more di-;- 

 tinctly defined than the corresponding sjiots on the third and fourth quills ; neither spot toudics 

 the shaft. The remaining primaries are pale pearl-gray, fading gradually to white at the ends. 

 The head, neck, rump, upper tail-coverts, tail, and entire lower parts arc pure white. Bill deep 

 wa.\-yellow, the tip whitish, the mandible with a large bright red spot at the angle. AViiig, lS.2"i 

 inches ; tail, 7.75 ; culinen, 2,.35 ; depth of bill at base, .80, through angle, .80 ; tarsus, S.O'i; 

 middle toe, 2.40. 



Althouuh at fii-st sight this birtl has some resemblance to L. glaucescetu, it may readily he 



» " Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus." No. 15, pp. 08, 99. 



