rLARIDJ^ — LARINjE: GULLS. 745 
flesh-color); ring round eye in the breeding season orange-red (not yellow). Mantle darTc 
bluish — much darker than that of argentatus, yet not slate-colored as in occidentalis. Europe, 
Asia, and N. W. coast of N. A. 
776. L. affl'nis. (Lat. affinis, allied to L. fuscus.) Reinhardt's Gull. Unknown to me ; 
Described as a slaty-backed bird, resembling L. fuscus, but belonging to the herring gull 
group in the pattern of the primaries ; feet iiesh-colored, small, toes shorter than tarsi. Asia ; 
only N. American as occurring in Alaska and accidentally in Greenland. 
777. L. califor'nicus. Californian Gull. Adult, summer plumage : Bill moderately stout, 
the angle well developed ; varying in size, longer than in delawarensis, sometimes nearly equal- 
[ ling argentatus. Tarsus equal to or slightly longer than middle toe and claw. Bill chrome- 
yellow, tinged with greenish; a vermilion spot on lower mandible at angle ; a black spot just 
above, forming, with a very small black spot on the upper mandible, an imperfect transverse 
band. Feet dusky Uuish-green, the webs yelloio. Mantle pearl- blue, much as in hracliyrhyn- 
chus, lighter than in canus, slightly darker than in argentatus. Prhnaries : bases of all light 
bluish- white, internally almost white, especially on outer webs, and of great extent on all ; 1st 
with a white space at the end for about 2 inches, the shaft white along the white portion of 
the feather ; 2d with a white spot near the end on the whole of the inner and most of the 
outer web, divided by the black shaft ; tips of all white ; black ft)rming merely a narrow sub- 
terminal band on the 6th. Tips of inner primaries white, as are also the tips of the second- 
aries and tertials, the line of demarcation between the white and the blue of the mantle pretty 
distinct. In breeding plumage : Eyelids bright saffron -yellow or red. Eyes brown. Upper 
mandible bright chrome, the greater part of the lower vermilion, the rest chrome. Gape of 
mouth deep crimson. Feet green. Winter plumage : Bill dully colored. Head and neck 
behind streaked and mottled with dusky. Nearly mature : As in the preceding. Tail with 
an imperfect subterminal black bar. Some of the feathers of the upper parts edged with gray. 
White space at end of 1st primary crossed by a transverse black bar ; no spot on 2d primary. 
Young : Bill yellowish flesh-color, black on the terminal half. Head, neck, rump, wing- 
coverts, tertials and secondaries, mottled with dusky. Primaries and tail uniformly brownish- 
black, scarcely lighter at the tips. Back as in the adults, but the feathers with grayish edges. 
Dimensions: Length 20.00-23.00; extent 50.00-54.00; wing 15.00-17.00; bill 1.60-2.00; 
depth at eminentia symphysis 0.56; tarsus 2.00-2.25; middle toe and claw about the same. 
Adults near the larger of these dimensions. W^estern and Arctic N. Am., breeding abundantly 
in U. S. 
778. Li. delawaren'sis. (Of Delaware.) Ring- billed Gull. Common American Gull. 
Adult in summer : Bill rather stout, as long as the middle toe and claw ; the upper mandible 
considerably convex at the end ; under mandible much thickened at the angle, which is prom- 
inent ; the outline from base to angle, and from angle to tip, both concave. Middle toe and 
claw scarcely more than f the tarsus. Bill greenish -yellow, at tip chrome, encircled at the 
angle with a broad band of black. Legs and feet dusky bluish-green. Mantle light pearl- 
blue, fading into white at the ends of the secondaries and tertials, the line of demarcation in- 
distinct. Primaries: 1st black, the basal portion of the inner web very light bluish-white, 
(almost white), with a spot of white about 1.25 inches long near the end, of equal extent on both 
webs, divided by the black shaft ; 2d with a small white spot on the inner web, and the inner 
web whitish at base for a longer distance ; the whitish of the bases of the primaries regularly 
increases inward and the black decreases, until on the 6th it is merely a transverse bar. Apex 
of 1st primary black, of others white, the spot being very minute on the 2d, and gradually in- 
creasing ; 7th and innermost primaries without any black, like the secondaries. Adult in 
winter : As in summer, but the head and neck behind spotted (not streaked nor nebulated) 
with dusky. Young, first winter : Upper parts irregularly mottled with dusky brown and the 
pearl-blue of the adults, the wing-coverts being almost entirely dusky, with lighter margins 
