484 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
direct to London by a fast train from Peterhead, and may now be seen in 
one of the Terrace Dens in the Zoological Gardens, close to the den of their 
larger relative, which, if we mistake not, was also presented by Mr. Leigh 
Smith. These young bears are at present about the size of sheep, and, 
with the exception of some slight contusions about the head and face, caused 
doubtless by their attempts to escape from on board ship, they appear in 
excellent héalth and condition, and likely to do well. They certainly form 
an attractive addition to the Society’s already rich collection of Carnivora.— 
J. EK. Harrine. 
Tue Youne oF THE Tvory Guii.—It was with much interest that 
T examined the young Ivory Gull, Pagophila eburnea, uow living in the 
Eastern Aviary of the Zoological Gardens, and which, with two young 
Polar bears, had been brought back by that successful Arctic explorer, 
Mr. Leigh Smith, from his late cruise as far as the shores of Franz-Josef - 
Land, first discovered by the Austro-Hungarian Expedition. This is, 
I believe, the first specimen of the bird ever received by the Zoological 
Society, and is by far the youngest that I have ever had the good fortune 
to examine. Most ornithologists were aware that the adult was pure 
white, and that the immature birds in the previous plumage were white, 
more or less spotted with blackish brown on the back, wings, and tail, in 
some cases also showing some dark colour about the base of the bill and 
the lores. The individuals with this kind of indistinct “mask” were, 
however, the youngest known to us, no earlier plumage being described by 
Mr. Dresser in his grand work on the ‘ Birds of Europe.’ Many of your . 
readers may be surprised to learn that the young Ivory Gull in its first 
plumage is mainly of a smoke-grey, nearly as dark as a Fulmar Petrel on 
the upper parts, and especially so on the tail-coverts, the feathers of the 
the back and wing-coverts being striated, and the head bearing not merely 
a mask, but a short hood of a darker grey than the neck and the under 
parts. In fact, so much did the specimen in question resemble a young 
Fulmar, that my first thought was to scrutinize his bill; that was quite 
“in order,” and he gave me every opportunity of observing it by attempting 
to devour my fore-finger; but his hinder parts he did not care to show, 
being perhaps conscious that his tail was somewhat defective, owing to 
abrasion. ‘The tone of the grey colour may perhaps have been deepened by 
the dirt acquired on board the steam-yacht, where he is said to have 
frequented the stoke-hole, but he has been constantly washing since his 
arrival in the Gardens, and there can be no doubt that the above is a rough 
description of the normal plumage of this gull at from three to four months 
old. Iwas not unprepared for this, having been told by those who have 
visited Spitzbergen that the young were quite dark; but it was one of those 
things not generally known, and the presence of the hood is both new and 
