46 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 



they are rare until the 20th or 25th May, about which time they 

 find the ponds and sluggish streams open in the coast country. 

 They undoubtedly reach interior localities earlier in the season, 

 as spring is considerably earlier there. 



The nest of this species is usually a small cavity in the sand by 

 the side of a stream or sheet of water. It also frequently builds 

 on a stump or tree, and in such cases dry twigs, hay and mosses 

 are used in its construction. A good many sets of eggs were taken 

 at Fort Anderson, lat. 68° 30'. {Macfarlane.) 



They nest, like the glaucous gull, upon small islets in ponds and 

 lakes. A bulky nest is prepared of grasses and mosses early in 

 June, in which two or three eggs are laid. {Nelson.) 



56. Mew Gull. 



Larus canus'lsm'ii. 1758. 

 Accidental in Labrador. {A. 0. U. List.) 



57. Heermann Gull. White-headed Gull. 



Larus heermanni Cass. 1852. 



Found in the Gulf of Georgia and along the coasts of Vancouver 

 island. {Lord.) Not common in the Gulf of Georgia, though they 

 appear to remain during the summer. Four specimens, the young 

 of the year, were taken off the mouth of Esquimault harbour in 

 the latter part of July by Dr. Hazell of Victoria. {Fannin.) One 

 taken in 1885 on Malcolm island, Gulf of Georgia, B.C. {Dr. G.M. 

 Dawson^ 



58. Laughing Gull. 



Larus atricilla 'Li'^n. 1758. 



On May 23rd, 1890, a gull was brought to my store. It had been 

 shot on Toronto island, and, being unlike any of our native species, 

 I had it thoroughly examined, and it proved to be a male laugh- 

 ing gull. This, I believe, is the first record of this bird in Ontario. 

 {William Cross.) Coast of Nova Scotia. (^. 0. 6^. Zw^.) A second 

 specimen was taken near Toronto in 1897 and is in Mr. J. H. 

 Fleming's collection. 



