LARINiE. LARUS. 243 
Temm. Man. d’Ornith. ii. 787. — Gavia minuta, Little Mew, 
MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, v. 
GENUS L. LARUS. GULL. 
The Gulls, properly so called, are much, larger than the 
Mews, and distinguished from them by their stouter bill, of 
which the prominence at the junction of the crura of the 
lower mandible is more conspicuous. Upper mandible with 
the dorsal line straight for half its length, then arcuato-decur- 
vate, the nasal sinuses rather short, wide, and feathered, the 
nostrils medio-basal, linear-oblong, wider anteriorly, covered 
above and behind with a sloping thin-edged plate, the edges 
very thin, direct, the tip narrow, obtuse, a little prolonged ; 
lower mandible narrower, much compressed, with the inter- 
crural space very long and extremely narrow, the commis- 
sure forming a prominent angle with the dorsal line, which 
is ascending and somewhat concave, the edges very thin ; 
the tip narrow, but obtuse. Mouth of moderate width, open- 
ing to beneath the eyes; tongue fleshy, rather narrow, deep- 
ly channelled above, tapering to a narrowly rounded point ; 
oesophagus very wide throughout, its walls thin ; stomach 
rather small, elliptical, muscular, with large radiated ten- 
dons, and extremely dense thick epithelium, marked with 
strong longitudinal ridges ; intestine rather long and narrow ; 
coeca very small, narrow, cylindrical. Eyes rather small, 
eyelids feathered, with bare crenulate margins. Legs of 
moderate length, slender; tibia bare for a short space ; tar- 
sus rather short, somewhat compressed, with numerous much 
curved scutella ; hind toe very small and elevated ; fore toes 
of moderate length, slender, the fourth a little shorter than 
the third, ail scutellate, and connected by reticulated mem- 
branes, having their margin a little concave ; claws small, 
slightly arcuate, somewhat compressed, toward the end de- 
pressed, obtuse. Plumage very full, close, soft, and blend- 
ed ; on the back and wings somewhat compact ; wings very 
long, rather broad, pointed ; the primaries nearly straight, 
tapering, obtuse, the first and second longest ; tail rather 
short, even, or slightly rounded, of twelve broad feathers. 
The Gulls are scarcely well separated from the Mews. 
Species of the genus occur in all climates, from the arctic to 
