in Greenland, but its habitat and breeding-places were not
known until the return of Messrs ; Seebohm and Harvie-Brown
from the Petchora in 1875. The series of skins obtained by
these energetic naturalists, threw a light upon many points in
distribution which had hitherto - been obscure ; and through
the subséquent observations of Mr. Seebohm, Drs.-Fmsch and
Brehm, and others, some • accurate s knowledge, of its' distrh-
bution was attained. It proved to be a visitor for breeding
purposes to Northern Siberia, from thé. White Sea. to Kamt-
schatka, and to the steppes and mountain, lakes which’ lie
to the north of-'the »great Asian rangé. I t ’passes the hold
season in the waters of South-eastern Europe, North Africa,
Arabia, India, China, and .Japan; and. as Miv Gatké has
obtained it in Heligoland (Ibis, 1878, p. 489|f utiis very
likely to visit the British Islands. Its |mantle, is dark slal&-
cèlóur, resembling that of pale examples of Læfdsmk-, and
the legs and fast are y'ellom as in the-'Mter-' species ; ’but the
foot is slightly larger in proportion!,* and a ' ‘ wedge of'^grey
eolour is present in the upper part of the outer’primaries,
whereas there is no ‘pattern^'of that kind-nrthnuuter quill-
feathers of thé Lesser Black-backed Gull; also a larger
bird, and was indèed at first identified-vby Hr .^Mh-schlwith
L . mdrihus; É
•î'Tbe adult Herring Gull in summer has thed5fflbyeïlow> the
angle of,the under mandible^d^* edges of -the ey®li$#.yelh)w,.
the irides straw-colour ; head and neck/all round, pure.whiées;
the back, and all the wirigrcoverts ' unifema-. delicate french-
grey tertials tipped/with white. In fWery- eldfindivi duals
the outer primary is'-mostly Mackp’wfth a'grey?rwedge‘l! running
from theïHâse* down ^ e inner éve¥) ’the tip is white -for
fully: two inches pin, the second a,’broad white^sub-apical
patch or-1 mirror ’ connects? with the^giëy innèirweb, and. is
cut off from the .white tip tby-a" black bar ;*^t]iéftMrd, fourth,
and fifth’ primaries are barred with - blafe;!? dh'dîrestfîâré '.grey,
tipped"'with'white. In youngèr:birdsdrhlsd’ilsG ess white
on the primaries. Upper-taâKëôv'erfe arid tail-feathers pure
white ; chin, throat;breast-,‘ belly, and' all -the under'surface
of: the-body and tail pure white ;Megs arid feétdffêsh-cólour.
In winter, even the adults have the head streaked with
dusky-grey; but less so than in younger examples.
The whole length is from twenty-two inches to twenty-four
and a half, depending upon age arid sex; the wing from
sixteen inches and a half to seventeen and a quarter. The
male is often considerably larger than the,female.
Jn a young bird of the year,;kil]p.d- pn the 4th of .August,
the uppei?^ parts were .of a mottled-brown dipped with-buff;
-tail; whitish, broadly Jbarred with dark .brown margined with
whiteffl* primaries sooty-brown. In the|;second year, thé
upper-parts are distinctly barred with br*own on a whitish
ground ; the primaries show faint white.tips, ^ ith a greyish
tint on# ,;tha Inside webs.; mantle greyish, but j no entirely
grey feathers baxeilÉf ..begun .to • head nearly white,
streaked with grpjijlphrown. In the. third year a bird shot
on the 3rd November, hadthe feathers <|^!the mantlp-of a pale
grey, slightly strealpd ^own the shafts; somg'^f the ‘tail-
cov^f|whiie; a faint sub-apical white spot ju k showingin
the outer primary of the left wihg.pMK - In, a/^irhpf^ the
fourth year, also shot on' thé sVd^oü November, the- mantle
was grey; the sub-apical patch larger; and the primaries
from the fifth upwards .were; distinctly barred black and
white at the Ups.;,tail merely mottled with greyish-brown,
the band being broken;up.* At the autumn moult of the next
-year the brown feathers are lost, and the bird breeds in the
following summer, when within a month.’ ©r so of completing
the fifth year of its. age.
^h|ÉEe<nestling is» cover®d with a down a^greyish-buff,
streaked and'épóited with black on the upper parts, especially
about -the head and throat-; h u t the dimensions of
these marks vary much with-.agé,/.*