THE HERRING-GULL. 749 



usually with black subterminal band or spot on 7th and occasionally 

 a spot on 8th ; secondaries pale blue-grey, tipped white ; primary- 

 coverts and all wing-coverts pale blue-grey but those along edge 

 and bend of wing white. This plumage is acquired by complete 

 moult May-Oct. Summer. — The body-feathers are moulted Jan.- 

 April but not wing- or tail-feathers nor wing-coverts. As winter 

 but whole head, hind -neck, throat and breast pure white. 



Nestling (Plate 11). — Closely covered with longish, soft down 

 with fine silky tips. Upper-parts and chin and throat buffish-grey 

 with numerous spots and blotches of black-brown, those on crown 

 and throat separated and those on upper-parts coalescing somewhat 

 and forming no definite pattern, those on head forming a line of 

 spots round eye, a streak in centre of fore-head, uneven V-shaped 

 groups in centre of crown and nape, streaks on each side of throat 

 and often a spot in centre of throat ; back of neck usually without 

 spots ; lower-throat buff ; breast and belly bumsh-white but down 

 round sides of body and vent with dark brown bases. 



Juvenile. — Fore-head, crown, nape and sides of head brown, 

 narrowly streaked white, feathers being edged white ; mantle brown, 

 feathers edged and tipped pale buff to bumsh-white (becoming 

 white when worn) and those on lower-mantle with notches or 

 transverse bars of pale buff ; scapulars same but sides of feathers 

 more notched or with comb-like bars of pale buff ; back, rump and 

 upper tail-coverts bumsh-white, feathers with brown bars and 

 subterminal arrow-head marking ; centre of chin and throat white, 

 sides streaked brown ; rest of under-parts greyish-white thickly 

 mottled brown, feathers having white bases and grey-white fringes 

 and pale brown spots and bars on distal halves, belly white, flanks 

 with better defined (darker) brown bars and marks ; under tail- 

 coverts as upper tail-coverts ; axillaries brown with narrow grey- 

 white bars or mottlings or- grey-white with brown bars ; under 

 wing-coverts brown with grey-white mottlings or bars ; tail- 

 feathers narrowly tipped white with broad (in central feathers 

 50-60 mm.) black-brown subterminal band, in central feathers 

 proximal to subterminal band irregular broad brown and narrow 

 white bars, feathers outwards from centre have more white, and 

 brown bars become broken up into spots and blotches, on outer- 

 most subterminal band is much restricted and rest of feather is 

 white with fewer large streaks or spots of brown (markings on tail- 

 feathers vary considerably) ; outer six primaries black-brown with 

 small white tips and pale brown inner webs becoming whitish at 

 base, rest of primaries paler brown mottled darker brown and with 

 rather larger white tips and dark brown subterminal patch ; 

 secondaries with black-brown outer webs, pale brown inner webs, 

 whitish at base and small dull white tips, inner feathers with white 

 edges indented towards tip ; primary-coverts black-brown narrowly 

 tipped bufnsh-white ; rest of wing-coverts as mantle but brown 

 rather darker. 



First winter. — Much like juvenile but crown and neck rather 



