LAEUS. ' 213 



ttose of L. marinus, hut the ground-colour is more varied, many 

 specimens being of a dark olive-buff. The markings are of the 

 same colour and character as in the eggs of L. marinus ; but it 

 may perhaps be said of them that they are, on the whole, coarser, and 

 that in a larger proportion of the eggs they form a very irregular 

 cap or zone at the large end. Specimens measure from 2-45 to 

 3-1 in length, and from 1-8 to 2-05 in breadth. 



3. Saldana Bay, S. Africa. Saunders Coll. 



.5. S. Africa. Gould Coll. 



2. S. Africa. E. L. Layard, Esq. [P.]. 



1. Orozet Islands, S. Atlantic (Capt. Saunders Coll. 

 Armson). 



1. Kerguelen Island, S. Atlantic. . Voy. H.M.S. ' Challenger.' 

 2.3. Kerguelen Island, 8th Dec. (^. K Royal Society [P.]. 



JEaton). 



2. Kerguelen Island, 8th Dec. (Transit Saunders Coll. 



of Venus JExped.). 

 6. New Zealand. Sir George Grey [P.]. 



1. Island in Desire River, Patagonia, Saunders Coll. 



30th Nov. (J. McCormick). 



2. Elizabeth Island, Straits of Magellan. Voy. H.M.S. ' Challenger.' 



1. Peckett Harbour, Sti-aits of Ma- Dr. Coppinger [P.]. 



gellan. 



13. Falkland Islands (C. C.^6io«). Gould Coll. 



4 Falkland Islands (C. C. A.). Salvia-Godman Coll. 



2. Falkland Islands (C. C. A.). Saunders Coll. 



2. Falkland Islands. Voy. H.M.S. ' Challenger.' 



] . Falkland Islands. McCormick Bequest. 



1. East Falkland. Lieut. A. Smith [P.]. 



Hybrid between L. argentatus and L. dominicanus. 



2. Laid in confinement (ii^or(^^z)zan'€«). Lord Lilford [P.]. 



Larus fascus, Linn. 



Larus fuscus, Thien. Fortpfianz. ges. Vog. tab. Ixxxviii. fig. 4, a-f 

 (1845-64) ; Baedeker, £ier Eur. Vog. tab. 62, fig. 2 (1855-63) ; 

 Hewitaon, Eggs of Brit. Birds, ii. p. 496, pi. cxxxix. fig. iii (1856); 

 Dresser, Birds Eur. viii. p. 421 (1873) ; Seebohm, Brit. Birds, iii. 

 p. 319, pi. 61 (1885) ; id. Eggs of Brit. Birds, p. 110, pi. 33. 

 tigs. 4, 5 (1896) ; Saunders, Cat. Birds B. M. xxv. p. 250 (1896) ; 

 Sharpe, Hand-l. i. p. 141 (1899). 



Like the eggs of L. ridibundus, those of the Lesser Black- 

 backed Gull are subject to great variation, the ground-colour 

 ranging from a plain pale blue to a rich olive-brown. The markings 

 are disposed on the shell in every conceivable pattern, from a few 

 spots only to masses of huge confluent blotches of a yellowish- 

 brown or blackish-brown colour. The eggs measure from 2-4 to 

 2-8 in length, and from 1-7 to 2 in breadth. 



3. Faroe Islands, 1st June (H. C, Seebohm Coll. 



Miiller: Hargitt Coll.). 

 3. Faroe Islands, 4th June (H. C. M. t Seebohm Coll. 

 Hargitt CoU.). 



