GULLS 



(58) Larus atricilla Linn. 



(Lat., black-tailed — applicable only to 

 young birds). 



LAUGHING GULL ; BLACK- 

 HEADED GULL. Ad. in summer 

 as shown. Primaries black; mantle 

 darker than that of other black- 

 headed gulls. Iris brown. Bill and 

 feet wholly red. In winter the head 

 and neck are white, more or less 

 spotted or streaked with grajash. 

 Im. — More or less spotted and 

 barred with ashy-gray; tail with a 

 broad black tip. L., 16.50; W., 13.00; 

 T., 5.00; B., 1.75. Nest — Of grass, 

 on the ground, usually in marshes; 

 three or four olive-gray eggs, spotted 

 with blackish, 2.10 x 1.55. 



Range — Breeds along the coast 

 from Mass. south to Fla. and Texas. 



only species that, during summer, has a southerly dis- 

 tribution in eastern United States. While most species 

 breed only from our northern border, northward, this one 

 nests wholly south of the Canadian border, its most northern 

 point being in Maine, in which state a very small colony 

 has located. 



On Muskeget Island, off the south shore of Massachusetts, 

 a very large colony of Laughing Gulls is to be found in smn- 

 mer in company with terns. They are very noisy when 

 one approaches the vicinity of their homes, their protes- 

 tations quite resembling hysterical laughter, although 

 possibly not more so than the notes of other species under 

 similar circumstances. 



This species may readily be distinguished from other black- 

 headed gulls by its larger size, its larger, all red bill, the 

 darker mantle and the soUd black primaries. In fall and 

 winter all gulls are much more difficult to identify than when 

 in breeding pltmaage. Young birds and birds of the first 

 and second year show such a great diversity of coloring, 



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