THE ARCTIC JAGER. 
75 
Young Bird in September. 
Bill light blue, dusky at the end. Iris brown. Tarsi and basal portion of 
the toes and webs light blue, the rest black. The general colour of the 
plumage is sooty-brown, lighter on the neck and lower parts ; the feathers 
of the back are all tipped with whitish, and the breast, sides, lower wing- 
coverts, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts, are undulatingly barred with pale 
greyish-yellow.. 
Length to end of tail 15| inches, to end of wings 13£, to end of claws 
131 ; wing from flexure 111 ; tail 6i, the middle feathers only f longer than 
the . rest ; bill along the back 11 ; tarsus If ; middle toe and claw 11. 
Weight 7 oz. 
THE ARCTIC JAGER. 
Lestrxs parasiticus, Linn . 
PLATE CCCCLIIL — Male and Female. 
During winter this indefatigable teaser of the smaller Gulls often ranges 
along our southern coasts as far as the Mexican Gulf, where I have seen it, 
as well as opposite the shores of the Floridas ; but I never met with a single 
individual in summer, even in the most northern parts, although I had 
expected to find it breeding on the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland. 
Few birds surpass it in power or length of flight. It generally passes through 
the air at a height of fifty or sixty yards, flying in an easy manner, ranging 
over the broad bays, on which Gulls of various kinds are engaged in 
procuring their food. No sooner has it observed that one of them has 
secured a fish, than it immediately flies towards it and gives chase. It is 
almost impossible for the Gull to escape, for the warrior, with repeated 
jerkings of his firm pinions, sweeps towards it with the rapidity of a 
Peregrine Falcon pouncing on a Duck. Each cut and turn of the Gull only 
irritates him the more and whets his keen appetite, until by two or three 
sudden dashes, he forces it to disgorge the food it had so lately swallowed. 
This done, the poor Gull may go in search of more ; the Lestris is now for 
awhile contented, and alights on the water to feed at leisure. But soon, 
