Bonapariian Gull in Europe, 195 



first primary to the last ; the light-coloured tip on the contrary 

 becomes gradually of a deeper shade from the third to the last. 



Shafts of all the primaries white, except the upper portion of the 

 first, which is dusky. Black appears on the inner web of the three 

 longest primaries, much lessening both in length and breadth 

 from the first to the third ; in the first it occupies four inches in 

 length, and its greatest breadth from the shaft is 4 lines (^ inch). 



The secondaries exhibit a large space of blackish brown towards 

 the tip within their pearl gray margins ; the tertiaries have more 

 or less of blackish brown irregularly disposed towards their tips. 



Under surface of wings entirely white, except that the portions 

 of the primaries, secondaries and tertiaries, which are dark above, 

 appear grayish. Entire under surface of body from the bill to 

 the extremity of the under tail-coverts white, of an extremely 

 faint roseate hue. The bird would I consider have attained full 

 plumage at the next moult. The weight was 5^ ounces. It 

 proved a male on dissection. The stomach contained the remains 

 of two specimens of opossum shrimp (My sis), a little vegetable 

 matter, and some small pebbles. 



The occurrence of this North American bird in Europe affords 

 another opportunity for speculating whether birds can really 

 cross the Atlantic, which some of the best ornithologists in Europe 

 did not, at least a few years ago, believe to be possible. In my 

 opinion, as fully stated on former occasions when noticing the 

 occurrence of American birds in Ireland, the presumptive or 

 circumstantial evidence is all in favour of their having really 

 crossed the ocean*. 



In the estuary, about three miles from where the Larics Bona- 

 partii was shot, the fii'st individual also of 



Larus Sabini, 

 known to visit the European coasts (as recorded by me in 1834), 

 was met with ; and at the opposite side of the bay a second example 

 was afterwards obtained. Since I first noticed the species, a few 

 individuals have been procured on the shores of continental 

 Europe. This opportunity of noticing a very rare and closely- 

 allied species to the preceding may be embraced, although it is 

 not American, nor has it been obtained there but in a single in- 

 stance t : — I allude to the 



Larus minutus, 

 a beautiful adult example of which was shot in the estuary about 



* See Yellow-billed Americ.-in Cuckoo (Cocct/zus /fmericanus) in 'An- 

 nals,' vol. ix. p. 226, and American Bittern {Botaurus lentiginosus) in same 

 work, vol. xvii. p. 94. 



t ' Faun. I3or. Amer.' p. 426. The species is not included in the Prince 

 of Canino's subsequently published list of North American Birds. 



13* 



