sand-eels and young herrings, which they pick from..the water, first hovering with extended and elevated
wings, then descending, spreading their tail and letting down their feet, with which I have often seen them
pat the water, as ,f they were running on land. They never plnnge so as to he immersed, bat merely seize
on what comes close to the surface. They also feed upon stranded fishes o f large size, asterhe, mollusca
shrimps, and other small erustacea. Sometimes also they pick up grain in the fields; and in a state
of domestication may be partly fed on bread. They are easily tamed, bat, unless in a garden or where
they are not liable to be teased, are seldom found to live long in this condition.”
What has been said o f the habits and economy o f the bird in this country is equally descriptive o f them
when seen on the European continent, whether it be on the warm shores of the Mediterranean, the cold
ones of the Baltic or the ragged coasts o f Norway. I believe Richardson was in error when he stated, in
the Fauna Boreal.-Amer.caua, that it breeds in Arctic America; for it does not appear that the bird has
ever been found so ftr to the westward. Mr. Alfred Newton would eveu have considered Brunnich's state-
ment that it ,s found in Iceland, problematical, had he not procured in 1858 the skin o f an immature bird
which had been shot.near Reykjavick the preceding winter. Mr. Baring-Gould saw the bird near the Icei
land coast on ins voyage thither from the Fseroes; but it ij certainly not a usual-ini,abitant o f the last-named
In summer the head, neck, under surface, rump, and tail are white; with streaks o f brownish grey on the
upper part of the head, the hinder portion, the sides, and the lower part of the neck ; back and wings light
greyish blue ; on the external five primaries a band o f greyish black, broadest on the outer one, and diminishing
until on the fifth it is reduced to a narrow band near the tip ; the first primary is white for nearly
three inches from the end, with a spot o f black at the tip o f the' inner web ; the second has a white space
o f an inch and a half extent, then a black band, and the tip white ; the third has a white spot near the
end; the shafts o f the primaries o f the same colour as the webs, the outer ones black for nearly their entire
length ¡ bill greyish green ; the tip ochre-yellow, and its basal margins and the mouth orange; ¡rides brownI edges or the eyelids dull red. ’
In winter the plumage is pure white, with the exception of the back and upper surface o f the wings, which
are delicate grey. In spnng a slight change takes place;.the head becomes spotted with hrownfand the
entire under-surface frequently suffused with a rosy hue, which adds greatly to :the beauty o f the bird's ap:
pearance. Considerable variety .occurs in the colouring o f the legs; in some individuals they are yellow h.
others green and greyish green : there appears to be no general law for the regulation o f the tints I the soft
parts o f this sp e c ,e s -a circumstance unusual among Gulls, the colouring o f whose feetis genemllyconstant:
_ The variation o f colour m the legs and toes o f different individuals o f Lam s canm;' says Mr Hartimr
»I very remarkable. Not only do the old birds differ in this respect from the young, w h lh is the east
,th many birds, but the former also differ inter se in summer and winter. An old bird killed in June had
the tars, and toes bright yellow, while another adult hird.shot in February had the same parts greyish green
"O B— ■ S B | j H B O the yelldw colour only around the tarsal joint, the rest of the' ¡Ml IB BhBB| An immature bjrd of this species, which I shot on the Thames at
Barking, on the 11th of October, had the legs and toes dull flesh-colour.”
i T h e 7 0u“S' " ’hen first hedged, have the npper surface greyish brown, variegated with brownish white
the primaries are blackish brown, with paler tip s ; the secondaries light grey ft the W h r Z , V
W m 8 1 ■ 1 ¡ 1 1 remainder H H M I M M « !
white, tad-coverts white, with a spot o f brown towards the end o f each ; forehead white ■ before the
se„„0,rc„,ar hand o f black; cheeks streaked with brown; neck and bre’ast ^ ^ Z “
verse smal spots of light brownish grey; lower tall-coverts with a brown spot near the end ; bill black
A f c the fi T' RBI 1 B H irides d0sk^ cidids brown I feet yellowish flesh-colour ’ After the fi. st moult, which is completed November, the head and hinder part o f the neck are streaked
with brownish grey, the back is greyish blue, with a mixture o f brown, a large portion o f the inner nri
manes has become grey, the secondary coverts are dull bluish grey, the rumn and unner tail „ ,
nearly white, the spots being very small, the bill is not so dark, and the feet are yellower
In the second winter the brown markings are much less apparent, the dark band on the tail ii an
reducgd in breadth, the bill is yellowish, the feet are livid yellowish green ‘ ■
In the summer o f the third year the fall plumage o f maturity is attained
For «he above description o f the change from the youthful age to that o f the adult we are indebted to the
researches and observations o f Macgillivray, from which they are condensed <
The principal figure in the Plate is of the natural size.