374 



of the body pure white with a beautiful blush of pink on the breast ; under wing-coverts dark grey, 

 axillary plumes greyish white; bill blackish red, gape dark red; legs bright vermilion or coral; iris 

 deep brown. Total length 104 inches, culmen 0'9, wing 8 - 8, tail 3 - 6, tarsus 095. 



Adult female. Exactly similar in coloration to the adult male, but perhaps a trifle smaller in size. 



Adult male in winter plumage. Conspicuous by the absence of the black head ; the latter is white, excepting 

 a slight indication of grey on the nape ; the breast is suffused with pink as in summer ; but the feet are 

 yellowish red, and not nearly so brilliant as in the breeding bird. 



A young male in the second year had the bill blackish, the legs dirty orange-yellow, the head white, grey 

 on the nape, below that some feathers, as also the long auricular mark, black, back of neck, sides of 

 neck, and back blue-grey, darker than the old bird; below white with a beautiful rose tinge, the five 

 outer quills brownish grey, with inner web white, the inner ones, as also the larger wdng-coverts, light 

 blue grey, the lesser coverts, three last secondaries, the middle wing-coverts, and a broad band on the 

 tail, which lessens towards the outside, black ; the tips of the white tail black, or blackish brown. 

 Most of the dark feathers were edged with white. As I before stated, this bird has no incuba- 

 tion-spots. (Meves, in epist.) 



Young. Head brown, varied with black and grey, forehead white, cheeks and ear-coverts blackish ; back 

 brown, some of the feathers darker and almost black, and some becoming grey ; lower part of the back 

 blackish ; rump and upper tail-coverts pure white, the latter here and there edged with brown ; wing- 

 coverts blackish, those on the carpal joint becoming grey, the median and greater coverts more or less 

 distinctly edged with grey or white; quills blackish, tipped with white, the inner primaries and 

 outermost secondaries more conspicuously, the under surface of the wing white, the greater part of the 

 inner webs of the quills being of this colour ; tail white at the base, black towards the tip, forming a 

 broad bar; under surface of the body white, with a few brownish feathers on the upper part of the 

 breast; under wing-coverts white; bill horn -black ; feet flesh-coloured. Total length 10 inches, 

 culmen - 9, wing 8 - 7, tail 3 - 8, tarsus 0'9. 



Obs. The bird just described is in the collection of Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., and is undoubtedly the youngest 

 we have yet seen. It was shot on the 14th of October, 1868, at Flamborough Head, and is not yet 

 full-grown. The varied plumage of black and grey is similar to that of the young Kittiwake, and a 

 great difference in the colour of the quills from the adult bird is to be noticed. In the fully mature 

 Little Gull the quills are beautiful grey with white tips, while the under surface is greyish black, the 

 under wing-coverts being also dark grey; while in the young bird the upper surface of the wing is 

 black, and the under surface almost entirely white, the under wing-coverts being wholly of the latter 

 colour. As the bird progresses towards maturity the scapulars become grey, and all traces of the pale 

 brown feathers on the head and back disappear. A specimen in Mr. Gurney's collection exhibits this 

 phase of plumage; it was killed at Flamborough Head on the 24th of October, 1867, and is described 

 as having a tinge of salmon-colour on the breast, although so young. The grey colour gradually 

 spreads over the entire back and scapulars, and the black on the lower part of the back begins to dis- 

 appear, but very little change is perceptible in the wing. We are inclined to believe that the change of 

 colour in the wing is also gradually assumed, and that the black disappears by degrees, the grey colour 

 making its appearance first on the bases of the feathers, and extending bit by bit towards the extremity 

 of the quill. We may mention in conclusion that, although it has been stated to the contrary, the 

 Little Gull, when immature, certainly has the tail perceptibly forked. 



