kumlien's gull. 251 



KUMLIEN'S GULL. 

 Larus kumlieni. 



Char. Mantle and wings pearl gray ; wings tipped with white, the 

 outer primaries having a sub-terminal space of ashy gray; bill yellow, 

 with a spot of red at the angle ; legs and feet bright pink. Length about 

 24 inches. 



Immature birds are more or less mottled with dusky or brownish gray, 

 very young specimens being very dark. 



Nest. On a clifif. 



Eggs. Not known. 



This species was described in 1883 by Mr. William Brewster 

 from specimens that had been taken in winter in the Bay of Fundy. 

 Kumlien found the bird breeding in numbers on the shores of 

 Cumberland Gulf ; but it is not known to breed in Greenland, nor 

 have nests been discovered elsewhere. In the second edition of the 

 A. O. U. " Check-List " the distribution of this species is given thus : 

 " North Atlantic coast of North America, breeding in Cumber- 

 land Gulf ; south in winter to the coasts of the Middle States." 

 Of the bird's distribution and of its distinctive habits nothing 

 farther is known. 



In coloration this species is a connecting link between leucopterus 

 and argentatus. 



Note. — The Siberian Gull {Lams affinis) occasionally 

 visits Greenland. 



