GULLS 25 



LAUGHING GULL : Chroicocephaliis atriciUa megalopterus 



(Bruch).* 



State records. — The laughing gull nests abundantly on the 

 Louisiana islands and after the breeding season visits the Ala- 

 bama coast in numbers to feed. The species is common in 

 Mississippi Sound and in the bays along the coast both in 

 summer and winter, but it does not at present nest within 

 the borders of the State. A small flock was seen on Petit Bois 

 Island, February 12, 1912, and about 20 on Dauphin Island, 

 March 22, 1912. In the latter flock there was one black- 

 headed adult. About 20 or 30 birds were seen on Dauphin 

 Island, July 5, 1913, and by the end of the month they were 

 common there. Small numbers also were seen there June 1-5, 

 1914 (Peters). Two immature birds were seen near Mobile, 

 May 9, 1911, and 50 or more, both young and adults, in scat- 

 tered flocks, on July 14, 1913. The latter were flying toward 

 the city early in the morning, evidently intending to feed in 

 the river. On Grand Bay, November 16, 1915, several laugh- 

 ing gulls flew over my duck blind, and near Point-aux-Pines, 

 November 26, 1915, I saw a flock of about 6 birds. 



General habits. — This medium-sized gull is easily recog- 

 nized in its summer plumage by its black head; young birds 

 and adults in winter, however, have the head white and are 

 less easy to distinguish. It is a gentle, confiding bird, and 

 possessed of much curiosity, often allowing an observer excel- 

 lent opportunities to study it at close range as it flies just 

 above his head and peers down at him. This species breeds 

 either in grassy marshes or on the sandy sea beach. In the 

 northern part of its range it is migratory, arriving in New 

 Jersey the latter part of April. It feeds not only along the 

 shores and on the marshes, but sometimes visits ploughed 

 fields to feed upon insects and their larvae. The cry of this 

 gull is described by Nuttall as "a coarse, laughing scream," 

 and Langille says "it might be imitated by the syllables 

 hah-ha-ha-ha-ha-hah-hah-hah, all of which are uttered on a 

 high, clear tone, the last three or four syllables, and especially 



'Lams atridlla of the Check-list of North American Birds of the American Orni- 

 thologists' Union, 8d. ed. (rev.), 1910; for change of name see The Auk, vol. 37, p. 276, 

 1920. 



