NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND THEIR ALLIES. 51 
September so many had started south that during this month at 
Yaquina Bay, Oreg. (Bretherton), it outnumbered all other gulls. 
It is an abundant southward migrant at Monterey, Cal., from August 
through October, but its numbers begin to decrease in early Novem- 
ber (Loomis). The last leave Fort Rupert, at the north end of 
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in October (Saunders), and 
only a few were still present in November, 1889, as far north as 
Ilwaco, Wash. (Chapman). A specimen was taken at Bodega Bay, 
Cal., as late as December, 1854 (Lawrence), and a few remain all win- 
ter as far north as San Francisco Bay (Henshaw), and casually — 
January, 1896 — even at Esquimault, British Columbia (Macoun). It 
is less rare at Monterey Bay during the winter (Loomis) and common 
at that season along the coast of southern California (Willett). It 
ranges south in winter to Chiapam and San Jose, Guatemala, where 
specimens were taken in January, 1863 (Salvin). A few were noted 
in Acapulco Bay, Guerrero, April, 1903 (Nelson and Goldman). 
LAUGHING GULL. Larus atricilla Linn^us. 
Range. — Atlantic coast from Maine to British Guiana, the Gulf of 
Mexico, and the Pacific coast of western Mexico and Guatemala. 
Breeding range. — The laughing gull is preeminently a breeding bird 
of eastern Caribbean Sea. It is a common breeder on the islands of 
Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao (Hartert), and Margarita (Clark), off the 
coast of Venezuela, and on the southern islands of the Lesser An- 
tilles — Grenada, Carriacou, Barbuda, Grenadines, and Soufriere. It 
is recorded from the others of the Lesser Antilles and from Porto 
Rico and Haiti, but though it undoubtedly breeds at many places 
throughout this region there is apparently no specific record of the 
finding of eggs. The bird reappears as a breeder in Jamaica (Field); 
Cuba (Gundlach); on the coast of Campeche, at Areas Keys (Nel- 
son) ; probably at Saddle Cay, British Honduras (Salvin) ; and the 
northern Bahamas — Andros, New Providence, Cat, Watling, and 
probably many other islands, as the species ranges throughout the 
Bahamas. 
Along the United States coast from Florida to Maine the laughing 
gull was formerly an abundant breeder and 50 to 60 years ago nested 
in great numbers at many places. A large part of these colonies have 
been extirpated by the plume hunter, but some birds escaped the 
slaughter, and during the last few years, under the careful protection 
of the National Government and of the National Association of 
Audubon Societies, these remaining colonies have increased in size 
and the birds are returning to others of their former homes. 
On the western and southern coasts of Florida these gulls breed 
near Passage Key (Pillsbury) and on a key near Cape Sable (Bent and 
Job). Many of the birds were seen during June, 1904, near Key West, 
