432 NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 



having a slightly shorter and somewhat stouter bill, more curved at the point, the curve com- 

 mencing under the middle of the nostrils. The posterior scales of the tarsus have a degree 

 of roughness intermediate between the one from Melville Peninsula and that from Baffin's 

 Bay : the form of the middle tail feathers as in the former. — The differences here detailed 

 are slight ; but we have thought it proper to notice them, as we have not seen authenticated 

 specimens of L. Buffonii or parasitica of Boie, nor any which have the precise characters 

 ascribed to these species by the Prince of Musignano *. 



DlMEMSIONS. 



Male from Spec, from English Male from Spec, from English 



Melv.Pen. Baffin's Bay. Specim. Melv.Pen. Baffin's Bay. Specim. 



Inch. Lin. Inch. Lin. Inch. Lin. Inch. Lin. Inch. Lin. Inch. Lin. 



Length, total . . . 20 6 18 6 20 Length of middle toe .13 13 13 



„ excluding central tail ,, of middle nail . 3| 4 4 



feathers , . 15 14 14 „ of inner toe . 10A 



of central pair 12 3 9 11 „ of hind toe . 2 2 2 



of wing . . 12 12 3 11 6 „ of hind nail .02 02 02 



of bill above . 11 12 10 Transverse diameter of the 



of bill to rictus . 1 8| 1 10 1 7± bill at the front . 4| 4 Q 4 



of tarsus . . 1 6J 16 17 



-R. 



* The following is the description of a Jager, that frequents Hecla Bay, Spitzbergen, of which there are two speci- 

 mens in the British Museum, brought home by Sir Edward Parry : it is, probably, the L. parasitica of the Prince of 

 Musignano. 



Stercorarius cepphus. (Leach, Cat. Mus.) Hecla Bay, Spitzb., 1827. 



Colour. — Head above and before the eye, and whole dorsal plumage, wings, and tail, nearly uniform blackish- 

 grey ; the quills and end of the tail nearly black, their shafts white. Neck above and below, and the throat, straw- 

 yellow. Breast, a patch under the wings, and under tail coverts, dark greenish-grey. Belly and sides white. Bill 



horn-colour above; its tip, the legs, and feet, black. Form. — Bill straight, broad at the base; its commissure 



curved only at the tip, and more slightly than that of L. parasitica (Nob); its transverse diameter at the front is seven 

 lines. The middle tail feathers are an inch and a quarter wide at the base, carrying most of their breadth until they 

 pass the rest of the tail feathers, whence they taper suddenly, but evenly, to an acute point, that projects three inches 

 beyond the adjoining feathers. Tarsus stout, smooth posteriorly : the scales somewhat elevated, though not pointed, 

 and larger and farther apart than in our L. parasitica. 



Inch. 

 Length, total . . 19 



,, excluding central tail 



feathers , .16 



,, of central tail feath. 9 



The most striking difference betwixt this species and that of our L. parasitica is in the much greater breadth of the 

 bill at the base, its larger gape, and the smoother and stouter tarsus. L. parasitica of the Prince of Musignano corre- 

 sponds, according to his description, with the Stercorarius cepphus of Leach in the broad bill, which is, however, four 

 lines longer ; while the tarsus is a quarter of an inch shorter. We subjoin the characters he assigns to it : — 



"Lestris parasitica (Boie). — Bill 1£ inch long, straight, broad at the base, entire ; middle tail feathers very 

 long, still wide 11 inch from the tip, abruptly narrowing, slender and acute at the point; tarsus 1| inch long, protu- 

 berances obsolete. — Adult blackish-brown; neck and beneath white, the former tinged with yellow. — Young wholly 

 brownish." 



" Arctic Gull, Lath. Die Polmene, Lepech., Reise Th., iii., S. 224, t. xi. Bonap. Syn., No. ."— R. 





Dimensions. 













.in. 

 











Length of wing 

 ,, of bill above 

 ,, of bill to rictus 

 ,, of tarsus 



Inch. 



13 



1 



. 2 

 1 



Lin. 

 

 2 





 8 



Length of middle toe . 

 ,, of middle nail 

 ,, of hind toe 

 ,, of hind nail 



Inch, 



. 1 

 . 



. 

 . 



Lin. 

 3 

 4 

 2 

 2 



