1 



314 LAEIDiE, GULLS. GEN. 281-5. 



with blackish, and bill often black. Length 16-20 inches; wing 11-13; 

 bill IJ-IJ ; tarsi about the same, and rather shorter than the middle toe and 

 claw. Quite different from any other species. Arctic America and Europe, 

 coastwise, rarely S. to U. S. in winter. Sw. and EiCH., F. B.-A. ii, 419; 

 NuTT., ii, 301 ; Aud., vii, 150, pi. 445 ; Fagoj)hila eburnea and P. brachytarsi 



Lawk, in Bd., 856; CouBS, L c. 308, 309 ebukneus. 



** Tail of the adult almost entirely black. {Blasipus.) 

 /'I ' Wiite-headed Gull. Adult with the head white, gradually merging on 

 the neck and under parts into pale ash ; mantle dark plumbeous ; upper tail 

 coverts whitish ; ends of secondaries and tertiaries white ; primaries and tail 

 feathers black, some of the former usually with white specks at the end, the 

 latter white at extreme tip and base ; bill red, black-tipped ; feet dark. 

 This is the final plumage ; but the blanching is very gradual and tardy, a 

 more usual condition being leaden-gray all over, the mantle slate-graj^ the 

 quills and tail black. Very young birds are fuliginous brown, paler or 

 grayish below, the feathers of the upper parts with lighter brown edges, 

 the bill pale with dark tip. Length 16-20 inches; wing 13-14. Pacific 

 Coast, U. S. and southward, abundant. L. bdcheri Vigors, Zool. Voy. 

 Blossom, iv, 358; L. fuUginosus Gould, Zool. Voy. Beagle, Birds, 141; 

 L. lieermanni Cass., Proc. Phila. Acad, vi, 1852, 157, and 111. 28, pi. 5 ; B. 



heermanni Lawe. in Bd., 848; Coues, I. c. 304 belghekii. 



&. Hind toe rudimentary or minute, usually without perfect claw. (Hi^sa.) 

 .-•^V Iiitiiwake Gull. Hind toe only appearing as a minute knob, its claw 

 abortive. Mantle rather dark grayish-blue ; 1st primary with the whole outer 

 web, and the entire end for about 2 inches, black ; next one, with the end 

 black about as far, but outer web elsewhere light, and a white speck at 

 extreme tip ; on the rest of the primaries that have black, this color decreases 

 in extent proportionally to the shortening of the quills, so that the base of 

 the black on all is in the same line when the wings are closed (a pattern 

 peculiar to the species of Hissa) ; and these all have white apex. Bill 

 yellow, usually clouded with olivaceous ; feet dusky olivaceous. Rather 

 small ; 16-18 ; wing 12 long ; bill 1 J-IJ ; tarsus about the same ; middle toe 

 and claw longer ; tail usually slightly emarginate. In winter, nape and hind 

 neck shaded with the color of the mantle. Young : bill black ; a black bar 

 on the tail, another across the neck behind; wings and back variously 

 patched with black ; dark spots before and behind the eyes ; quills mostly 

 black. Arctic America and Europe, chiefly coastwise, very abundant; in 

 winter, commonly S. to the Middle States ; breeds from New England 

 northward. Sw. and Eicii., F. B.-A. ii, 423; Nutt., ii, 298; Aud., 

 vii, 146, pi. 444; Laavr. in Bd., 854; Coues, I. c. 304. . tridactylus. 

 /t^_, Var. KOTZEBUi. It is a curious fact, tliat the common kittiwake of the North 

 Pacific usually has the hind toe better formed — sometimes nearly if not quite as 

 long as in ordinarj^ gulls, with a neavlj' or quite perfect, though small, claw. But 

 I cannot predicate a specific character on this score, since the development of the 

 toe is by insensible degrees. See Coues, Troc. Phila. Aead. 18G9, 207 (footnote). 

 BoNAp., Consp. Av. ii, 226 ; Coues, Proc. Phila. Aead. 18G2, 305 ; Elliot, pi. 54. 



