164 
LARID-E. 
The adult bird in summer plumage has the head, neck, 
upper part of the back, breast, belly, and all the under 
parts pure white ; the back and wing-coverts are cinereous 
dusky ; the tips of the scapulars and secondaries are broadly 
tipped with white ; the quill-feathers are dusky, and darkest 
towards their tips, every quill-feather is tipped with white, 
except the longest. The beak is yellow, with a red spot 
on the under mandible ; the eyes pale yellow, eyelids ver¬ 
milion red ; the legs and feet wine yellow ; claws dusky. 
The winter plumage differs only in having pale brown 
streaks on the top of the head, back of the neck, and ear- 
coverts, and a dark spot before the eyes. 
The young bird of the year, which is so nearly similar 
to that of the herring gull, is nevertheless so decidedly 
marked that no one need for a moment make a mistake 
in their recognition, provided he uses his eyes properly. 
The secondaries and greater wing-coverts are dusky with 
narrow cinereous yellow tips, and the brown markings all 
over the bird are not only larger but darker than those of 
the young herring gull. 
In length the quill-feathers exceed those of the young 
herring gull very considerably, as may be seen in the fore¬ 
going description of the dimensions. 
The beak is flesh colour at the base, and dusky at the 
tip; the legs and feet pale flesh red; the eyes brown, 
with a black spot before them. The forehead, chin, throat, 
and all the under plumage white, with raw umber spots on 
the top of the head, the hinder parts of the neck and 
sides, the breast and belly, &c. ; the back and all the 
upper plumage are raw umber brown, and cinereous 
ash intermixed, with the centres of the feathers dusky 
brown ; the tail has a black bar on its extremity, edged 
with white. 
