LARINA. RHYNCHOPS. 
313 
If 
hind part of the sides greyish-black in the centre. Female less tinged 
with red, and having the tail-feathers less elongated. 
Male, 29^, 38. Female, 2Q, 34. ^ 
Rare on the coast of Florida. Migratory. 
Phaeton sethei-eus, Bo nap. Syn. p. 409. 
Tropic Bird, Nott. Man. v. ii. p. SOB. 
Tropic Bird, Phaeton setherehs, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 442. 
FAMILY XLII. LARINA. GULLS. 
Bill of moderate length, straight, compressed, acute ; 
upper mandible with the dorsal line generally straight until 
toward the end, when it is decurved, the ridge convex, the 
nasal groove rather long, the edges sharp, direct, over- 
lapping, the tip rather acute and declinate ; lower mandible 
with the angle long and very narrow, the dorsal line ascend- 
ing and nearly straight, with an angular prominence at its 
commencement. Nostrils suhmedial or b^sal, oblong. Head 
of moderate size, ovate ; neck of moderate length ; body 
rather stout. Legs short or of moderate length ; tibia bare 
at its lower part ; tarsus anteriorly scutellate ; toes four, 
the first very small, free, the third longest ; anterior toes 
connected by webs. Claws small, arched, compressed, rather 
acute. Plumage full, soft, blended, somewhat compact on 
the back and wings, the latter long and pointed ; tail of 
twelve feathers, even, rounded, or emarginate. Tongue 
long, slender, pointed ; oesophagus very wide ; stomach 
rather small, moderately muscular, with a dense, longitu- 
dinally rugous epithelium ; intestine of moderate length 
and width ; coeca small ; cloaca globular. Trachea simple, 
with a single pair of inferior laryngeal muscles. Nest on 
the ground, rudely constructed. Eggs few, not exceeding 
four, spotted. Young covered with down. 
t 
GENUS I. RHYNCHOPS, Linn. SKIMMER. 
Bill longer than the head, nearly straight, tetragonal at 
D d 
