30 THE CHICAGO ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



over, searching for airholes where they may find a few dead 

 fish upon which to feed. 



Mr. E. W. Nelson in his "Birds of Northeastern Illinois" 

 gives the following note under the name Larus argentatus, or the 

 European Herring Gull : "A single specimen, an adult female, 

 was obtained in the Chicago harbor March 27, 1876." This note 

 is of considerable interest, for at that time the American Herring 

 Gull was considered a variety {Larus argentatus smiths onianus) 

 of the European species which was known in this country only as 

 a very casual visitor to the Atlantic seacoast. Mr. Nelson also 

 states that this specimen was examined by Dr. Coues and Mr. 

 Ridgway, who pronounced it identical with the European bird. 

 He says of the specimen: "The most striking peculiarity is its 

 small size and the white terminal space over two inches long, 

 upon the outer primary. Iris hazel." In the "Birds of Illinois" 

 Mr. Ridgway says : "According to Mr. Nelson, the iris of this 

 specimen was 'hazel.' If this was really the case (which there 

 is no reason for doubting), the specimen can hardly have been L. 

 argentatus in either of its forms, which, when adult (the bird 

 in question was an adult female), always has the iris yellow. L. 

 calif amicus has a dark brown or hazel iris, and it may possibly 

 be that species ; at any rate the case is one of considerable impor- 

 tance and the specimen should, if it can be traced, be carefully re- 

 examined." 



It is interesting to watch the flocks of gulls hovering near 

 the outlets of the sewers along the lake-front in the city of 

 Chicago. As the birds are never molested they are fearless and 

 one can approach within a few yards of them, thus obtaining a 

 splendid opportunity for determining the various species which 

 form the flocks. In these flocks, I have only succeeded in find- 

 ing three species. These were the Herring Gull, the Ring-billed 

 Gull and the Bonaparte's Gull. In the spring, the Herring Gulls 

 may be seen on many of our rivers and quite a distance inland, 

 where they frequent the overflowed meadows, looking for fish 

 which may have frozen during the winter and which lie dead 

 upon the surface. 



The geographical range of the Herring Gull quite covers the 

 northern portion of the northern hemisphere. In North America, 

 its breeding range extends from the northern portion of the 

 United States northward, and it winters as far south as Cuba 

 and Lower California. 



