NOTES CONCERNING CERTAIN BIRDS OF LONG 
ISLAND, N. Y. 
BY WILLIAM C. BRAISLIN, M. D. 
In the accompanying notes data concerning some of the com¬ 
mon gulls of our coast are presented for the purpose of empha¬ 
sizing the favorable results, evident even to the casual observer, 
which have been produced by the passage of laws of greater 
stringency for the better protection of these birds. The enact¬ 
ment of these, together with the conviction and fining of a few 
flagrant offenders through the activity of the Chairman of the 
National Association of Audubon Societies, Mr. William Dutcher, 
have been of evident benefit to birds, in that gulls have been seen 
more or less commonly the past summer through, along the whole 
south shore of the island. 
The passage of the law preventing spring shooting of ducks 
seems likewise to have been beneficial. Sportsmen and baymen 
are unanimous in their opinion that ducks have been more 
abundant in the Great South Bay this autumn than usual. It is 
possible that other factors have combined with the law to bring 
about this immense increase in the number of ducks this autumn. 
At any rate the facts are a strong argument against the repeal of 
this law, which latter many short-sighted Long Islanders desire. 
Brief references to a few other species are given for reasons which 
are evident in the text. 
Lams kumlieni. Kumlien’s Gull is herewith definitely 
recorded for the first time as a bird of Long Island. Dr. Jona¬ 
than Dwight, Jr., whose paper on the plumages and moults of 
North American Gulls is, we believe, in press, has examined the 
specimen which I recorded in ‘ The Auk,’ April, 1899, p. 190, 
as “ Larus leucopterus (or kumlieni)’'' Dr. Dwight’s investigations, 
which will hereafter enable one to identify the immature as well 
as the adults of L. leucopterus and L. kumlieni , have determined 
the differential diagnosis of the two immature birds heretofore 
impossible. The color of the shafts of the primaries are, he finds, 
invariably distinctive. • , 
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