104 COMMON AMERICAN GULL. 



purplish-grey ; claws brownish-black. The general colour of the plum- 

 age is dull white, mottled with greyish-brown beneath, on the back with 

 large brownish-black spots, the dark markings being central. Anterior 

 to the eye is a crescent of greyish-black. The outer primary quills are 

 black, the two first without white at the ends, the rest margined round 

 the ends with that colour. The abdominal and tibial feathers are white; 

 the lower and upper tail-coverts white, with brown spots. 



Length to end of tail 18|, to end of wings 20^, extent of wings 44^ ; 

 tarsus 2, middle toe l/^j its claws j%. Weight 1 lb. 3 ounces. 



On a rocky island on the coast of Labrador, where this bird was 

 breeding in great numbers, a comparatively small number of individuals 

 only had the bill marked with the black ring, the others, although pre- 

 cisely similar in other respects, wanted that mark. This bird although 

 in many respects precisely similar to that which is usually named Larus 

 canus in Europe, differs greatly in the size of the bill, which even in 

 young birds is much deeper than in the oldest individuals of that spe- 

 cies. 



