THE MEDITERRANEAN BLACK-HEADED GULL. 739 



tips and inner webs ; primary-coverts pale ash-grey ; coverts 

 along edge of wing white ; all other wing-coverts ashy blue-grey as 

 mantle. This plumage is acquired by complete moult in early 

 autumn (Aug.-Sept.). Summer. — The body -plumage is moulted 

 Feb. to April but not tail, wings, or wing-coverts. Like winter but 

 whole head all round jet-black with short line of white feathers 

 above and below posterior half of eye but not meeting at back of 

 eye. 



Nestling. — Down like that of Sandwich, Roseate, and Sooty 

 Terns of matted appearance, a number of filaments being enclosed 

 in single sheath at tip, unlike any other Gulls examined. Upper- 

 parts freckled brown, buff and grey (very much like Sooty Tern) 

 with ill-defined parallel fines of dark brown and grey down mantle ; 

 under -parts same, but chin and centre of breast and belly whiter. 

 (Only one specimen examined, viz. Knasib, Black Sea, H. Saunders 

 Coll. in Brit. Mus.) 



Juvenile. — (Not examined, but see 1st winter.) 

 First winter. — Juvenile body -feathers are moulted early autumn 

 but not wing or tail-feathers nor wing-coverts while varying number 

 of body -feathers, especially scapulars, are retained. Head as adult 

 winter ; hind-neck ash-grey almost as mantle ; feathers of back 

 ash-grey tipped brown ; upper tail-coverts white, sometimes with 

 brown penultimate spots ; varying number of juvenile feathers 

 (brown edged white) are retained on upper-parts, especially 

 scapulars ; under-parts white but under wing-coverts along edge 

 of wing and covering primaries with long brown tips and rest with 

 faint brown edgings ; tail-feathers white with subterminal black- 

 brown band, wide on central and becoming reduced on outer 

 feathers ; primaries black-brown, shafts dark-brown, 2nd (outer) 

 with base of inner web white sometimes extended on inner edge 

 towards tip as white mottling, 3rd and 4th same but white extending 

 towards tip in long, narrow, blunt wedge, 5th and 6th same but 

 wedge wider and brown margin on inner edge short, 7th with tip 

 and outer web brown, extending somewhat on to inner web which is 

 otherwise pale ash-grey, a pale ash-grey oval subterminal mark 

 (varying) on outer web, extreme tip white, rest of primaries pale 

 ash-grey with narrow brown shaft -streak extending to wide mark 

 subterminally ; secondaries white tinged ash-grey with broad 

 subterminal black-brown band not reaching right across inner webs ; 

 primary-coverts and feathers along edge of wing black-brown, 

 tipped white ; greater coverts dull ash-grey tinged brownish and 

 tipped white ; rest of wing-coverts and innermost feathers of 

 secondaries and greater coverts brown, edged and tipped white and 

 with dull ash-grey bases. First summer .--Like first winter but 

 head and especially nape and round eyes darker owing to wear of 

 white edges of feathers and a sprinkling of new black feathers on 

 fore-head and crown ; hind-neck whiter, mantle more uniform, 

 most juvenile feathers being replaced. N.B. — Only one first summer 

 bird examined. 



