Gulls 



clutch. After the nesting season these gulls migrate farther south- 

 ward than the glaucous gulls, not because they are incapable of 

 withstanding the most intense cold, but because the fish supply 

 is of course greater in the open waters of our coast. With ma- 

 jestic grace they skim along the waves, revealing the dark slate- 

 colored mantle covering their backs like a pall, for which they 

 must bear the gruesome name of "Coffin Carrier." 



American Herring Gull 



(Larus argentatus smitbsonianus) 



Called also: WINTER GULL 



Length — 24 to 25 inches. 



Male and Female — In summer: Mantle over back and wings 

 deep pearl gray, also known as "gull blue ; " head, tail, and 

 under parts white. Outer feathers of wings chiefly black, 

 with rounded white spots near the tips. Bill bright yellow. 

 Feet and legs flesh-colored. In winter : Similar to summer 

 plumage, but with grayish streaks or blotches about the head 

 and neck. Bill less bright. 



Young — Upper parts dull ashy brown ; head and neck marked 

 with buff, and back and wings margined and marked with 

 the same color ; outer feathers of wings brownish black, 

 lacking round white spots ; black or brownish tail feathers 

 gradually fade to white. 



Range — Nests from Minnesota and New England northward, 

 especially about the St. Lawrence, Nova Scotia, Newfound- 

 land, and Labrador. Winters from Bay of Fundy to West 

 Indies and Lower California. 



Season — Winter resident. Common from November until March. 



As the English sparrow is to the land birds, so is the herring 

 gull to the sea fowl — overwhelmingly predominant during the 

 winter in the Great Lakes and larger waterways of the interior, 

 just as it is about the docks of our harbors, along our coasts, and 

 very far out at sea; for trustworthy captains declare the same 

 birds follow their ships from port to port across the ocean. 



Occasionally at low tide one may meet with a few herring 

 gulls on the sand flats of the beach, feeding on the smaller shell 

 fish half buried there. It is Audubon, the unimpeachable, who 

 relates how these birds, that he so carefully studied in Labrador 



39 



