730 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



coasts of North America as far south as Lower California and Mexico; 

 on migration west to Kotzebue Sound and east to Ungava, casual 

 in Bermudas and Bahamas, in Chile and Sandwich (Hawaiian) 

 Islands. Once, winter 1845, Heligoland, once France. 



LARUS MINUTUS 



447. Larus minutus Pall.— THE LITTLE GULL. 



Lartjs mintjtus Pallas, Reise d. versch. Prov. d. Russ. Reichs, ill, p. 702 



(1776— Beresof, Tobolsk). 



Larus minutus Pallas, Yarrell, in, p. 589 ; Saunders, p. 663. 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Fore-head, lores, 

 and line over eyes white ; rest of crown and nape lead-grey, narrow 

 line under and in front of eye and patch on hinder ear-coverts 

 blackish-grey ; back of neck, mantle, scapulars, and back pale 

 blue-grey ; under scapulars tipped white ; lower-rump and upper 

 tail-coverts white ; under -parts white with patch of pale blue-grey 

 on sides of upper-breast ; axillaries ash-grey ; under wing-coverts 

 lead-grey becoming black or blackish on under primary-coverts 

 and underside of wing-feathers ; tail white ; primaries pale blue- 

 grey shading to lead-grey on inner part of inner webs, shafts grey, 

 long white tips ; secondaries as primaries but shafts blackish- 

 grey ; innermost secondaries and all wing-coverts pale blue-grey 

 as mantle. This plumage is acquired by complete moult Sept.-Oct. 

 and perhaps later. Summer. — The body -feathers are again moulted 

 March-April (sometimes not quite complete June) but not wing- 

 feathers, wing-coverts, or tail-feathers. As winter but whole head 

 all round jet-black ; back of neck and upper-mantle white ; under- 

 parts sometimes suffused pink ; no grey patches on sides of upper 

 breast. 



Nestling. — Closely covered with longish soft down with fine 

 silky tips. Upper -parts and sides dark grey-buff, down with 

 brown-black bases, with somewhat irregular and not very con- 

 spicuous spots and patches of brown-black in which down is buff at 

 extreme tip (upper-parts thus much darker than in nestlings of other 

 British Gulls) ; under -parts buff-grey, down with brown-black 

 bases except along centre of breast and belly (only one examined). 



Juvenile. — Fore-head, lores, broad line over eyes to nape white, 

 a few feathers with small brown tips ; rest of crown, line in front of 

 and under eye and patch on hinder ear-coverts black-brown ; mantle 

 black-brown, feathers with white bases and narrowly tipped yellow- 

 huff to^ cream ; scapulars same but long ones with long white tips ; 

 back and upper -rump ash-grey, feathers tipped black-brown ; 

 lower-rump and upper tail-coverts white, a few feathers with small 

 brown spots near tips ; small dark brown patch on each side of 

 upper-breast, otherwise whole under-parts including under wing- 

 coverts white ; tail white with broad terminal brown-black band 

 (extreme tips fringed buff -white), outer feathers with less black and 

 outermost with no black or with small patch at tip of inner webs 



