250 
SWIMMERS. 
ICELAND GULL. 
WHITE-VVINGED GULL. 
Larus leucopterus. 
Char Mantle pale pearl gray, rest of plumage white ; bill yellow, 
with a patch at orange at the angle ; legs and feet bright pink. Length 
about 25 inches, the female smaller. In winter the head and neck are 
streaked with pale brownish gray. Young birds are mottled grayish 
brown and pale gray, and become whiter with each moult. 
JVest. On a cliff or sandy beach ; when in the sand, it is a mere depres- 
sion slightly lined with grass, but when a rock is chosen for the site a 
compact structure is formed of sea-weed and grass lined with moss. 
Eggs. 2-3 ; pale or dark buff more or less tinged with green, some- 
times almost olive drab; average size about 2.75 X t.8o. 
Iceland Gull is a misnomer for this bird, as it appears in Iceland 
in winter only, and then in very small numbers. The true home of 
this Gull is in that portion of the Arctic Ocean which lies north of 
America, and its breeding area extends from Greenland to Alaska; 
elsewhere it is but a visitor. 
During the winter these birds range along the Atlantic shores 
from Labrador to Cape Cod, though they are not numerous south 
of the Bay of Fundy. A few examples have been taken on the 
Great Lakes. 
In appearance this species is a small edition of the Glaucous 
Gull, there being no perceptible difference in the coloration ; but 
their habits are quite different. 
The flight of the Iceland Gull, its feeding habits, and its manners 
generally, suggest a close afflnity to the Herring Gull rather than to 
the Burgomaster. 
