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A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Tips of 8th primaries of juveniles of A. The 

 British Lesser Black-backed Gull (Laws f. 

 affinis) ; B. The Herring-Gull (L. a. argen- 

 tatus.) 



white apex than Herring-Gull, but varying and sometimes reduced 

 to spot), inner web of tip sometimes clouded grey, 3rd as Herring- 

 Gull but with white mirror usually smaller and often absent and 

 grey of inner web and base much darker, rest of primaries as 

 Herring-Gull, but grey much darker, whitish line at junction of 



grey and black on inner web 

 more prominent, 7th with black 

 subterminal band and 8th 

 with varying amount of black ; 

 secondaries slate - grey with 

 long white tips and mottled 

 white at base and edge of inner 

 webs ; primary-coverts and all 

 wing - coverts slate - grey but 

 small coverts along edge and 

 bend of wing white. This 

 plumage is acquired by com- 

 plete moult June-No v. (all 

 primaries not finished Jan.). 

 Summer. — The body -feathers 

 are moulted Dec -April but 

 not whig or tail-feathers nor 

 wing-coverts. As winter but 

 whole head and neck all round 

 white (white apex of primaries 

 becomes mostly worn off and tips of slate-grey feathers become 

 brownish). 



Nestling. — Not to be distinguished from that of Herring-Gull. 

 Juvenile. — Like that of Herring-Gull but brown of both upper- 

 und under-parts rather darker and bars and blotches on under- 

 parts often better defined ; tail-feathers with proximal portion 

 usually more closely barred black-brown, and white bars much 

 clouded and finely mottled with brown especially on outer webs 

 (occasionally Herring-Gulls are closely barred and clouded) ; 

 primaries blacker on outer webs and tips and darker on inner webs, 

 extreme tips pale brown or whitish-brown but not white, inner 

 feathers much as outer and not pale brown mottled darker as in 

 Herring-Gull ; primary-coverts blacker and with pale brown not 

 whitish tips ; other wing-coverts rather darker (sometimes very 

 difficult to distinguish from some Herring-Gulls, inner primaries 

 best distinction). 



First winter. — As in Herring-Gull moult only partial. Crown 

 and neck become rather whiter and less streaked but not so white 

 as 1st winter Herring-Gull ; new feathers of mantle and scapulars 

 grey-brown with varying amount of black-brown on distal portion, 

 burr-white tips and on scapulars and lower-mantle with dull buff 

 marks at sides (whole upper-parts considerably darker than 

 Herring-Gull) ; wings and tail as juvenile. First summer. — Partial 

 body-moult as in Herring-Gull, head and neck and rump becoming 



