
120 LAUGHING GULL. 
it consists of twelve feathers, and its coverts reach within an 
inch and a half of its tip; the wings extend two inches be- 
yond the tail; a delicate blush is perceivable on the breast 
and belly ; length of tarsus, two inches. 
The head of the female is of a dark dusky slate colour; in 
other respects she resembles the male. 
In some individuals, the crown is of a dusky grey; the 
upper part and sides of the neck of a lead colour; the bill and 
legs of a dirty, dark purplish brown. Others have not the 
white spots above and below the eyes ; these are young birds, 
The changes of plumage to which birds of this genus are 
subject have tended not a little to confound the naturalist ; 
and a considerable collision of opinion, arising from an imper- 
fect acquaintance with the living subjects, has been the result. 
To investigate thoroughly their history, it is obviously neces- 
sary that the ornithologist should frequently explore their na- 
tive haunts ; and, to determine the species of periodical or occa- 
sional visitors, an accurate; comparative examination of many 
specimens, either alive or recently killed, is indispensable. 
Less confusion would arise among authors if they would oc- 
casionally abandon their accustomed walks—their studies and 
their museums—and seek correct knowledge in the only place 
where it is to be obtained—in the grand temple of Nature. As 
respects, in particular, the tribe under review, the zealous 
have a slight tinge of ochre.* The tarsi also, in both the plates cited by the 
Prince, are coloured yellow. These differences, with the more important one 
exhibited in the feet, will not permit us to join these birds under one name. 
Another distinction, which must not be overlooked, is in the colour of the feet. 
Edwards expressly says of his ‘ Arctic Bird’ (pl. 149, which much more resembles 
ours than that figured on the plate immediately preceding), that ‘the legs and 
toes are all yellow;’ whereas, in our bird, these members are of a deep and 
shining black, while the hinder parts of the tarsi, toes, and connecting mem- 
brane, are particularly rough.”—Sw. 
This jager breeds in considerable numbers in the barren grounds at a distance 
from the coast. It feeds on shelly mollusce, which are plentiful in the small 
lakes of the Fur Countries, and it harasses the gulls in the same way with others 
of the genus.—ED. 
* The pure colour or uniform tint of the lower parts will not stand as charac- 
ters ; in our native species they vary constantly.— Eb, 

