At the Water's Edge 



of grayish brown. Any thus colored are im- 

 mature birds of the first year. But in all the 

 large flocks I have seen in winter, the dark 

 specimens are so exceptional, that I infer that, 

 being younger and less hardy, they migrate 

 farther south in winter. 



Two magnificent great fellows, the largest of 

 the family, are the glaucous gull, living far to 

 the north, with this same light-blue mantle, 

 and no black on the wing-tips ; and its more 

 southern congener, the black-backed gull, cov- 

 ered with dark slate, like a pall, which accounts 

 for its gruesome epithet of "coffin-carrier." It 

 is not infrequently to be seen hereabouts, and 

 is, with perhaps one exception, the most majes- 

 tic sea bird that we have. One of the most 

 beautiful species is the ivory gull, pure white, 

 and perhaps the largest aerial white specimen 

 in existence. Being a resident of the polar 

 regions, it can very seldom be seen, except by 

 those hardy and valiant scientists who periodi- 

 cally tempt Providence by making a trip in 

 quest of the mythical terminus of our terres- 

 trial axis. In Audubon's interesting account 

 of his experience in Labrador in summer, where 

 he made a study of the herring gulls, he speaks 

 of their ingenuity in extracting moUusks from 



IS9 



