LARUS ATRICILLA. 
162 
In some individuals, the crown is of a dusky 
the upper part and sides of the neck, of a lead colo'"'’ 
the hill and legs, of a dirty, dark, purplish hro"'^ 
Others have not the white spots above and belo'V 1® 
eyes ; these are young birds. ^ 
The changes of plumage, to which birds of this I 
are subject, have tended not a little to confound ' | 
naturalist; and a considerable collision of opiR'PJ 
arising from an imperfect acquaintance with the 
subjects, has been the result. To investigate thorou2‘’|-_ 
their history, it is obviously necessary that the 
thologist should frequently explore their native haR'**’j 
and, to determine the species of periodical or occasif' . 
visitors, an accurate comparative examination of 
specimens, either alive or recently killed, is indisp^ji 
sable. Less confusion would arise among author^ ^ 
they would occasionally abandon their aceustoi® i. 
walks — their studies and their museums, and 
correct knowledge in the only place where it is 
obtained — in the grand temple of nature. As it resp*''.|j, 
in particular, the tribe under review, the zealou* ’j] 
quirer would find himself amply compensated tbf ^ 
his toil, by observing these neat and clean birds cou>^'j,j 
along the rivers and coast, enlivening the prospect jj; 
their airy movements, now skimming closely over 
watery element, watching the motions of the stirK||] 
and now rising into the higher regions sporting " ^ 
the winds, — while he inhaled the invigorating breC'^j 
of the ocean, and listened to the soothing murnint* 
its billows. 
The laughing gull, known in America by the ■'•'.J i 
of the black-headed gull, is one of the most beaut' jj 
and most sociable of its genus. They make 
appearance on the coast of New Jci'sey in the 1'*^ |f 
part of April ; and do not fail to give notice of f 
arrival by their familiarity and loquacity. The y 
bitauts treat them with the same indifference that • i 
manifest towards all those harmless birds which “C .id j 
minister either to their appetite or their avarice ; | 
hence the black-heads may be seen in companies ar® 
