Birds of the Adirondack Region. 
C. H„ Merriain. 
I 7 I - Larus leucopterus, Faber. White-winged Gull.—A rare win- 
ter visitor from the north. 
Cali N. O.O. 0,Oct, 1882, p.235 
ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE WHITE-WINGED 
GULL (. LARUS LEUCOPTERUS FABER) IN 
THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 
BY GEORGE N. LAWRENCE. 
Early in March of this year, I was requested by Mr. John G. 
Bell, to examine a Gull which had been sent to him to be 
mounted, and as it was unknown to him, to determine the 
species. 
On examination I found it to be a young specimen of Larus 
leucopterus; it was sent to him by Mrs. Greene Smith of Peter- 
boro, N. Y., at which place it was captured. 
I informed Dr. Merriam of the fact and suggested that he 
should write to Mrs. Smith, asking for particulars concerning it. 
He did so, and has communicated to me the following informa¬ 
tion : — 
“Mrs. Greene Smith being away, the letter was answered by 
Mr. I-I. C. Wilson, her overseer. Wilson says: ‘The Gull 
spoken of by you was shot by a farmer’s boy, three-quarters of a 
mile from this place, in an open spring place, i J rods long by io 
or 12 feet wide, on the first day of February. The boy wounded 
it and kept it alive for two or three days. It was doubtless 
driven inland by the severe storm of about that date, as there is 
no open water nearer than Seneca Lake, 75 miles from this 
place.’ This completes the data on the bird, I believe.” 
Mr. Bell said it was in poor condition ; this was to be expected, 
from inability to procure its customary food. 
The general plumage is of a dull white, marked all over with 
light ashy-brown spots ; these are most distinct on the back and 
wings, and less defined on the head, neck, and under plumage ; 
the quills are white on the inner webs, and ashy on the outer; 
there is no indication of any black spots on the ends of the prima¬ 
ries ; the tail-feathers are light ashy-brown, mottled with dull 
white on the inner webs, except near their ends, where the ash 
color is immaculate ; the bill is blackish-brown ; the tarsi and 
toes are flesh-color. 
The wing measures 16 inches ; the tail, 6.50 ; the tarsus, 2 ; 
the bill from front, 1.50; from gape, 2.50; height at angle, 70. 
This is the first immature specimen of this species I have had 
the opportunity to examine ; it agrees very well with Audubon’s 
figure of the young; the difference in plumage from that of the 
adult is very similar in character to that which exists in Larus 
glaucus. 
There are but few references to its appearance in our state. 
Audubon says of it: “I have not met with this species farther 
south than the Bay of New York.” 
I inquired of Dr. Merriam for further information concerning 
it; he wrote as follows : “I have myself recorded Larus leucop¬ 
terus from the Adirondacks (Bull. N. O. C., Vol. VI, No. 4, 
Oct. 1880, p. 235). I did not kill the bird, but saw them (there 
were two) for several hours flying about a pond. They were 
smaller than argentatus , and the primaries were without black 
tips. This was just after the ice had gone out of the lakes in 
