THE WHITE GULLS AT SWAMPSCOTT 
ARTHUR P. STUBBS 
The sweep of the shore of Nahant Bay from Dread Ledge, 
Swampscott, to East Point, Nahant, is broken into a succession 
of sandy beaches, separated by projecting points of ledge and 
loose rocks. Of these beaches I wish to speak of three, Nahant, 
King’s and Fisherman’s. The last, being sheltered from the 
wind and waves, is used as a landing place by the local fisher¬ 
men, who during the colder months throw their fish trimmings 
upon the sand to be eaten by gulls, or washed away by the tide. 
This abundance of food and a long period of protection have 
made the visiting gulls, which at times number several hundreds, 
very tame and easy to approach. The same birds on the near¬ 
by King’s Beach are a little more wild but when they reach 
Nahant Beach, still farther away, they have recovered their 
natural wildness and near approach is impossible. Among this 
company of birds, made up almost entirely of Herring Gulls, 
with now and then a Greater Black-back, in the winter of 1906 
we began to notice several gulls of soiled white plumage having 
no black on their primaries. The study of the gull pack in 
succeeding years revealed variations in the size and plumage of 
these white gulls and also showed us birds with gull-blue 
mantles but lacking the black tipped primaries of the Herring 
Gull. In all we found five types of gulls differing from the 
various plumages of the Herring and Black-back. Number 1 
was about the size of the Herring Gull, its plumage an even 
dirty white with a slight reddish wash upon the back and wings; 
the bill, feet and eyes were dull black. Number 2 same size, 
but nearly pure white; feet and legs flesh color, bill yellow and 
eyes yellowish or not noticeable for color. In good lights a 
slightly darker mantle showed on back and wings. Number 3 
larger than a Herring Gull, dull ivory white in color, bill with 
black tip, feet dark. Number 4, same size as No. 3, pure white 
or nearly so, bill yellow, feet flesh color. Number 5, the color 
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