﻿I20 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  are 
  darker 
  colored 
  and 
  marked 
  with 
  brownish 
  even 
  in 
  Pagophila 
  alba 
  

   requiring 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  years 
  to 
  reach 
  mature 
  plumage. 
  The 
  sexes 
  are 
  alike 
  

   in 
  color, 
  but 
  the 
  males 
  are 
  slightly 
  larger. 
  In 
  the 
  breeding 
  season 
  the 
  bill, 
  

   mouth, 
  eyelids 
  and 
  feet, 
  one 
  or 
  more, 
  are 
  ornamented 
  with 
  brilliant 
  shades 
  

   of 
  red 
  or 
  yellow; 
  several 
  species 
  have 
  a 
  delicate 
  salmon 
  -pink 
  suffusion 
  of 
  the 
  

   breast 
  plumage; 
  the 
  terns 
  have 
  a 
  black 
  cap, 
  and 
  a 
  group 
  of 
  smaller 
  gulls 
  

   a 
  black 
  hood. 
  Most 
  gulls 
  and 
  terns 
  are 
  maritime 
  birds, 
  rarely 
  traveling 
  

   inland 
  except 
  on 
  the 
  larger 
  streams 
  and 
  lakes. 
  They 
  are 
  almost 
  constantly 
  

   on 
  the 
  wing 
  searching 
  for 
  the 
  fish, 
  other 
  marine 
  animals 
  and 
  refuse, 
  which 
  

   constitute 
  their 
  food. 
  The 
  voice 
  is 
  harsh 
  and 
  shrill 
  in 
  the 
  smaller 
  species, 
  

   but 
  hoarse 
  in 
  the 
  larger 
  ones, 
  inseparably 
  associated 
  with 
  lapping 
  waves 
  or 
  

   pounding 
  surf, 
  while 
  their 
  graceful 
  forms 
  following 
  the 
  ship 
  are 
  usually 
  

   the 
  first 
  indication 
  to 
  the 
  voyager 
  that 
  he 
  is 
  approaching 
  land, 
  though 
  it 
  

   be 
  hundreds 
  of 
  miles 
  away. 
  Gulls 
  and 
  terns 
  nest 
  in 
  colonies 
  on 
  rocks, 
  

   or 
  sandy 
  beach, 
  or 
  the 
  drift 
  of 
  inland 
  lakes, 
  or 
  sometimes 
  even 
  in 
  trees. 
  

   The 
  eggs 
  are 
  two 
  to 
  three 
  in 
  number, 
  rarely 
  four, 
  of 
  some 
  olive, 
  greenish, 
  

   or 
  buffy 
  shade, 
  spotted 
  with 
  brown 
  or 
  black. 
  The 
  young 
  stay 
  in 
  the 
  nest 
  

   and 
  are 
  fed 
  by 
  their 
  parents, 
  i.e. 
  they 
  are 
  nidicolous 
  and 
  altricial, 
  but 
  they 
  

   are 
  covered 
  with 
  down 
  and 
  some 
  species 
  which 
  nest 
  on 
  the 
  beach 
  often 
  

   move 
  about 
  when 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  old, 
  thus 
  showing 
  an 
  approach 
  to 
  the 
  praecocial 
  

   type. 
  

  

  Pagophila 
  alba 
  (Gunnerus) 
  

   Ivory 
  Gull 
  

  

  Plate 
  6 
  

  

  Larus 
  albus 
  Gunnerus. 
  Leem's 
  Beskr. 
  Finm. 
  Lapp. 
  1767. 
  p. 
  285 
  

   Gavia 
  alba 
  A. 
  O. 
  U. 
  Check 
  List. 
  Ed. 
  2. 
  1895. 
  No. 
  39 
  

  

  pagoph'ila, 
  Gr. 
  Trayos, 
  ice, 
  ^tXos, 
  loving; 
  al'ha, 
  Lat., 
  white 
  

  

  Description. 
  Adult: 
  Pure 
  white, 
  shafts 
  of 
  the 
  primaries 
  yellow; 
  bill 
  

   yellowish; 
  feet 
  black; 
  iris 
  brown; 
  eyelids 
  red. 
  Young: 
  Upper 
  parts, 
  tips 
  

   of 
  the 
  wings 
  and 
  tail 
  feathers 
  with 
  dusky 
  spots. 
  

  

  Length 
  15-19.5 
  inches; 
  average 
  17; 
  extent 
  41; 
  wing 
  13.25; 
  tail 
  5.5; 
  

   culmen 
  1.4; 
  gape 
  2.1; 
  depth 
  of 
  bill 
  at 
  nostril 
  .45; 
  tarsus 
  1.45; 
  middle 
  toe 
  

   and 
  claw 
  j.75. 
  

  

  This 
  is 
  an 
  arctic 
  species, 
  very 
  rarely 
  entering 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  The 
  

   only 
  specimen 
  from 
  New 
  York 
  is 
  recorded 
  by 
  Dutcher 
  in 
  the 
  Auk, 
  volume 
  

   12, 
  page 
  290. 
  It 
  was 
  shot 
  on 
  Great 
  South 
  bay, 
  near 
  Sayville, 
  L. 
  L.b}' 
  John 
  

   Goldswerth, 
  January 
  5, 
  1893. 
  ^^^ 
  Helme 
  writes 
  that 
  he 
  once 
  saw 
  a 
  single 
  

   bird 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  flying 
  about 
  Mt 
  Sinai 
  Harbor, 
  Suffolk 
  countA^ 
  N. 
  Y. 
  

  

  