LAEID^, JAEGERS. GEN. 279-80. oU',) 



^ SJcua Gull. Length about 2 feet ; ^viiig 17 inches ; tail 6 ; tarsus 2'i , 



middle toe and claw 3 ; bill about 2, its depth at base f . Aljove, blackish- 

 browu, varied with chestnut and whitish ; throat and sides of neck yellowish- 

 brown, streaked with white ; below, fusco-rufous, with an ashy shade ; quills 

 blackish, with white shafts and a conspicuous large white area at base ; tail 

 feathers blackish, white at the base ; very old birds arc luuch darker and 

 more uniform brown, almost blackish above, rather smoky brown below. 

 Northern N. Am., rare or casual; "California." LeMris cafarades Nutt., 

 ii, 312; Slercorarius cataractes Lawr., Ann. Lye. N. Y. 1853, 71, and iu 

 Bd., 838; Biqjhagus skua Coues, Proc. Phila. Acad. 18(33, 125. . skua. 



** Bill and tarsi relativelj^ longer than in the foregoing ; central rectrices finally 

 projecting far beyond the rest. Smaller and less robust. (jStercorariiis.) 



L- L(- Pomarine Jaeger. Middle tail feathers finally projecting about 4 inches, 

 hroad to the tip. Length about 20 inches ; wing 14 ; bill 1 J-lf ; tarsus 

 about 2. Adult: back, wings, tail, crissuin and lower belly blackish-brown, 

 deepening on the top of the head and slight occipital crest to brownish- 

 black; below, from bill to belly, and neck all ronnd, pure Mhite, excepting 

 acuminate feathers of sides of neck, which are pale yellow ; quills whitish 

 basally, their shafts largely white ; tarsi above bhie, below, with the toes and 

 webs, black. Not quite adult: as before, but breast with dark spots, sides 

 of the body with dark bars, blackish of lower belly interrnpted ; feet black. 

 Younger: whole under parts, with upper wing and tail coverts, variously 

 marked with white and dark ; feet blotched with yellow. Young : whole 

 plnmage transversely barred with dark brown and rufous ; feet mostly 

 yellow. Dual'!/ stage (coming next after the barred plumage just given?) ; 

 fuliginous, unicolor ; blackish-brown all over, quite black on the head, 

 rather sooty brown on the belly; sides of the neck slightly gilded. 

 Northern N. Am., ranging S. to the jNliddle States in winter. Sav. and 

 EiCH., F. B.-A. ii, 429; Nutt., ii, 315; Aud., vii, 186, pi. 451; Lawr. 

 iuBd., 838; Coues, I. c. 129 pomatorhinus. 



/:' J./ Parasitic, or Richardson^s Jaeger. jMiddle tail feathers finally projecting 



about 4 inches, tapering, acximinate ; smaller; wing 12-13; tarsus If-lg-; 

 bill 1^- IJ ; tail 5-6, the long feathers up to 9 inches. Adult: upper parts, 

 including top of the head and slight occipital crest, and crissum, blackish- 

 brown, deeper on wings and tail ; chin, throat, sides of head, neck all round 

 and under parts to the vent, white, the sides of the neck pale yellow; quills 

 and tail feathers with whitish shafts ; feet blue and black. Younger: clouded 

 below with dusky in variable pattern and amount. Young: barred cross- 

 wise with rufous and dusky; feet mostly yellow. There is a fuliginous 

 stage, precisely as in the last species. Northern N. Am. ; U. S. in winter. 

 Lestris richardsonii Sw., F. B.-A. ii, 433, pi. 73 (in dusky plumage) ; 

 Nutt., ii, 319 (dusky) ; Aud., vii, 190, pi. 452; Slercorarius richardsonii 

 Coues, I. c. 135; Lestris cepj)Iius Nutt., ii, 318 (adult); Stercorarius 



parasiticus IJA^yll. in Bd., 839; Coues, I. c. 132 parasiticus. 



j'Y 2. Arctic, Long-taHed, or BufforCs Jaeger. Middle tail feathers finally pro- 



