The Iceland Gull 
the Aleutians and Kotzebue Sound; then hyperboreus, with palest gray 
mantle and white primaries, breeding north to Point Barrow and Banks 
Land; and, lastly, Pagophila alba, the all white bird, who would nest on 
the Pole itself, if that would stand still long enough. A beautiful grada¬ 
tion from Ethiopian brunette to Eskimo blond! But what is the meaning 
of it all? One can see why an “ice gull’’ should be white, but why should 
heermanni and fuliginosus and modestus of the tropics be sooty? and 
why this accurate gradation? 
Taken near Santa Barbara Photo by the Author 
WHERE TRITON BLOWS HIS WREATHED HORN 
No. 272 
Iceland Gull 
A. 0 . U. No. 43. Larus leucopterus Faber. 
Description. —“Similar in coloration to L. hyperboreus , but much smaller, with 
relatively smaller bill and feet and longer wing”—Ridgway. Length of adult about 
609.6 (24.00); wing 101.6 (4.00); tail 41.9 (1.65); bill ii.2 (.44); tarsus 13.7 (.54). 
Recognition Marks. —Gull size; nearly white coloration of adult, very light 
coloration of immature; much smaller than Glaucous Gull. 
Nesting. —Does not breed in California. Nest and Eggs: Much as in next 
species. Av. size 68 x 48 (17.3 x 12.2) (Bent). Season: June. 
General Range. —Coasts of the North Atlantic and adjacent portions of the 
Arctic Ocean. Breeds in Arctic regions from Victoria Land, Boothia Peninsula, and 
western Greenland, east (probably) to Nova Zembla; winters south along the Labrador 
