Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/333

 GULL 319 inn.) is about the size of the last, from which may be distinguished by the dark slate lor of its back and wings, the black white- ipped primaries, and the yellow legs and feet. It is found from the entrance of Baffin bay to [aine, its favorite breeding places being on Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus). ie coast of Labrador ; in winter it goes as far as Florida. It is a high, powerful, and ijestic flier, resembling in this respect, as as in its voracious habits, the vultures ; breasts the fiercest gales, skimming along ie tops of the waves ; it is a good walker, a but slow swimmer, and no diver. It upon fish, young birds, eggs, and any ting carrion ; in fact, upon everything ex- vegetable food ; tyrannical and strong, it Silvery Gull (Larns argentatus). 1. Adult. 2. Young. 3. Bill. also very cowardly, flying off when the bold ttle skuas or jagers (stercorarius) attack or pproach it. It is exceedingly shy, and very loisy in the breeding season ; in captivity it is rery long-lived. The breeding season is from ~ie middle of May to the middle of June, and 381 VOL. viii. 21 only one brood is raised in a year ; the nest, composed of weeds and grasses, is placed upon rocky shelves, and the eggs, usually three, are about 3 by 2 in., of a pale greenish gray, with dark spots and blotches ; both sexes take part in incubation, and the young are fed at first by regurgitation. The eggs, like those of gulls generally, are good eating; great num- bers of the young, when nearly able to fly, are killed and salted as food for the fishermen of Labrador and Newfoundland ; the old birds are tough and unfit for food. The plumage is soft and thick, and is esteemed for pillows and similar articles. The herring or silvery gull (L. argentatus, Brunn.) is about 23 in. long, and 53 in alar extent; it resembles a small glaucous gull, except that the first six primaries are marked with black. This is a very shy species, with a powerful and graceful flight ; it feeds principally on herring, and on the usual food of gulls. It is found from Newfoundland to Texas, and goes inland to the western rivers and northern lakes ; it breeds from Labrador to Maine, nesting, when persecuted by man, on high trees ; the eggs, about 3 by 2 in., are usually three, of a dull yellow color with spots and blotches of umber brown, and are excel- lent as food. In the genus chroicocephalus (Eyton) the bill is moderate, slender, and much compressed ; the size is small, and the head in the spring plumage has a dark hood, becoming white in winter; the contrast of black and white makes them very handsome birds. The laughing gull (C. atricilla, Linn.), 17 in. long, has the mantle and wings bluish gray, the hood dark leaden gray, and white lines on the lids ; found from Massachusetts to Texas. Bo- naparte's gull (G. JBonapartei, Eich.), about 15 in. long, has a light mantle, grayish black hood, and a white band divided by a narrow black line around the posterior part of the eye ; it is found from Nova Scotia to Texas, on the west- ern rivers and lakes, the Pacific coast, and in the fur countries ;" in the neighborhood of Pu- get's sound it is eaten by some Indian tribes. In the genus rissa (Leach), including the kittiwakes, the bill is long but strong, and the hind toe rudimentary or very small. The three-toed gull, or kittiwake (R. tridactylus, Linn.), 17 in. long, has a pearl-gray mantle, the ends of the outer primaries black, and a general white plum age ; it is found from Labra- dor and the fur countries to the southern coast in winter. There are three other species on the N. W. coast. The ivory gull (pagophila eburnea, Gmel.), about 19 in. long, has an en- tirely white plumage, with an ivory yellow bill, dusky at the base ; all the species of the genus are found far at sea in high northern latitudes, where they feed principally on the flesh and fat of cetacean animals. The larger and the arctic species, the former called goe- lands, are found also on the European continent. The common gull of Europe is the L. canus (Linn.). The larger terns, of similar appearance and habits but smaller size, are often called gulls.