LAUGHING GULL. 
221 
white, and almost all the primaries slightly; the bend of the 
wing is white, and nearly three inches long ; the tail is almost 
even, it consists of twelve feathers, and its coverts reach within 
an inch and a half of its tip ; the wings extend two inches be- 
yond the tail ; a delicate blush is perceivable on the breast and 
belly; length of tarsus, two inches. 
The head of the female is of a dark dusky slate colour ; in 
other respects, she resembles the male. 
In some individuals, the crown is of a dusky grey ; the up- 
per part and sides of the neck, of a lead colour ; the bill and 
legs, of a dirty, dark, purplish brown. Others have not the 
white spots above and below the eyes ; these are young birds. 
The changes of plumage, to which birds of this genus are 
subject, have tended not a little to confound the naturalist; 
and a considerable collision of opinion, arising from an imper- 
fect acquaintance with the living subjects, has been the result. 
To investigate thoroughly their history, it is obviously neces- 
sary that the ornithologist should frequently explore their na- 
tive haunts ; and, to determine the species of periodical or oc- 
casional visitors, an accurate comparative examination of many 
specimens, either alive or recently killed, is indispensable. 
Less confusion would arise among authors, if they would oc- 
casionally abandon their accustomed walks — their studies and 
their museums, and seek correct knowledge in the only place 
where it is to be obtained — in the grand temple of nature. As 
it respects, in particular, the tribe under review, the zealous 
enquirer would find himself amply compensated for all his toil, 
by observing these neat and clean birds coursing along the 
rivers and coast, enlivening the prospect by their airy move- 
ments, now skimming closely over the watery element, watch- 
ing the motions of the surges, and now rising into the higher 
regions sporting with the winds,~while he inhaled the invi- 
while the hinder parts of the tarsi, toes, and connecting membrane, are particularly rough.” 
— Sw. 
This jager breeds in considerable numbers in the barren grounds, at a distance from the 
coast. It feeds on shelly molluscae, which are plentiful in the small lakes of the fur countries, 
and it harasses the gulls in the same way with others of the genus.—En 
