'^ 



LAKID.E — THE GULLS AND TEUXri — LAllUS. 



248 



iiiuiil (iiiaulitica, witli brownish slate niul j;;rayi.sli hwtfy wliitu, the lattur boidoriiif,' tlm reathui-s, niul 



i;.riiiini,' broad irri'^,'ular bars, mostly bL-iiualli the siirlace ; jirimary covurts, remiyeH, and roctriccs 



dusky black, the iiiiua- primaries more yray- 



i<li, the primary-coverts narrowly tipped 



witli white and the outer tail-leuthui-s with 



inc^'tdar broken bars of the same. Head, 



lu'ik, and lower parts mottled or cloudecl 



with j,'rayish white and brownish },'ray, the 



liillcr i)revailing on the head and neck — 



marly uniform on the nape, liill dusky, 



lilack at the tip and brownish basally ; iris 



liiHwn ; lej,'s and feet brownish (in the dried 



skill). Ihintij yoiiiKj : Grayish whit'", purer 



while centrally Iteneath, where immaculate ; 



lii;id marked by irre<;ular dusky black spots, 



of indelinite arran,L,'enient, but most nunuirous 



aluivi! ; iipper parts clouded with dusky gray- 

 ish. Bill black, tipped with i)ale yellowish 



liniwn. 



Total length, 21.30 to 23.00 inches; 



cxliMit, 51.00 to 55.00 inches; wing, 15.00- 



1(1.75 (average, 15.54) ; culmen, 1.65-2.15 



(1.83) ; depth of bill through angle, .G0-.75 (.04) ; tarsus, 2.00-2.()0 (2.25) ; middle toe, 1.70- 



l,!).j (1.88). [Fifteen adults.] 



The .salient points distinguishing this well-marked species from others occurring in the same 



rc'i^'ions consist in tlie peculiar shade of the mantle, which is a deep cinereous-blue, intermediate 



Ix't ween the plumbeous of oa-ithntalis and the pearl-blue of ariji:ntatus, and e.\actly as in L. nuhiii- 



nans, Paf.LAS, of the Pahvarctic Region and 

 Northwestern America ; the red mandil)ular 

 spot of argenlatus, etc., comliiiu'(l with a 

 more or less complete black banil near the 

 end of the bill, as in ddawarcusin, altliough 

 there is rarely, if ever, a complete band, as 

 in the latter species. The dark-lnown iride.s 

 and pea-green feet of the perfect adult dis- 

 tinguish it at once froni all its allies, which, 



c.xi'cpt /y. occidentalis,'^ have, when adult, yellow or whitish irides and (lesh-colored feet. 



As in othf r species of this group, the white jiictura: of the primaries increase in size with the 



age of the bird ; as coincident with this change, it may be mentioned that in the oMer individuals 



the black spots of the bill are sometimes almost obsolete, being most distinct in younger specimens. 



This is iiu oxolusivply iiorthwostcrn and northern spooics, and is found on the 

 ra(ntic coast in the winter; but retires to its brecdiiig-plaeos in the suiunier. Mr. 

 liiTuard Ross daims to liave met with it on tlie jMaekcuzie Kiver. Dr. Cooper writes 

 that he found this Gull not rare on the Paeifie eoast in the neigliborliood of >San 

 Diego during the winter ; and lie also states that it winters along the entire eoast as 

 far north as Puget's Sound ; but that it retires in the summer to its breeding-places 

 in more northern regions. He describes this species as being less vigorous in flight 

 than L. orr'uleiitalU, more inclined to dive for Hsh, and luit .so varied in its mode 

 of obtaining its subsistence. He thinks it probable that this species is one of those 

 tJulls which breed on Mono Lake and on other salt bodies of water in the interior 

 basin. 





' L. acddeiitalis has brown iride.s, and yellow, though, according to the Iiihols of some collectors, 

 fli'sh-ciilorcd feet 1 



