WESTERN GULL. 
49. Laras occidentalis. 26 inches. 
This bird is the most southerly distributed of any of the 
large Gulls, and can be seen about the harbors of California 
at all seasons of the year. They are great thieves, robbing 
the Murres and Terns wherever eggs are left unprotected, and 
are the greatest enemy that the Murres have to contend with. 
Nest.— Their nests are made up of weeds and grass, and the 
full set contains three eggs of grayish brown spotted with dark 
brown, showing the usual variation found in color in the Gulls ’ 
eggs (2.75 x 1.90). 
Range. —Pacific coast, breeding from southern California to 
British Columbia. 
HERRING GULL. 
51. Laras argentatus. 24 inches. 
These Gulls nest in colonies in favorable localities, usually 
on the ground, sometimes making a bulky nest of seaweed quite 
a distance from the water. A few pair nest on the islands 
of some of the inland lakes and it is not uncommon to see 
nests built in low trees ten or fifteen feet from the ground. 
Nest. —They lay three eggs of a grayish brown color spotted 
with black and brown. 
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