Part 4

Gulls

=39. Ivory Gull= (_Pagophila alba_). L. 17. _Ads._ Pure white; bill yellow; feet black. _Yng._ Similar, but wings and tail tipped with blackish; throat dusky.

Range.--Breeds in Arctic regions; winters south to Great Lakes and British Columbia; rarely to Massachusetts.

=40. Kittiwake= (_Rissa tridactyla_). L. 16. Hind toe a knob. _Ads._ Head, neck all around, underparts, and tail white; 3 in. or less, of tips of primaries black. _Yng._ Tip of tail, ear-coverts, nape, and wing-coverts with black; bill black; inner web of primaries with white. _Notes._ A rapidly uttered _'kit-a-wake_, _'kit-a-wake_.

Range.--North Atlantic and eastern Arctic regions; breeds in America, from Gulf of St. Lawrence to Greenland; winters south to Great Lakes, Long Island and, rarely, Virginia.

=40a. Pacific Kittiwake= (_Rissa tridactyla pollicaris_). Similar to No. 40, but hind toe more developed; black tips to 3 outer primaries, 3 in. or more in length. _Notes._ "A shrill, harsh cry when disturbed and a low whistle when communicating with each other." (Nelson.)

Range.--"North Pacific and Bering Sea; south in winter, casually to southern California." (A.O.U.)

=41. Red-legged Kittiwake= (Rissa brevirostris). _Ads._ Similar to Ad. of No. 40, but legs red, back and inner web of primaries darker; bill shorter, 1.2. _Yng._ Similar to No. 40, but no black on tail or wings.

Range.--"Coasts and Islands of Bering Sea." (A.O.U.)

=54. Ring-billed Gull= (_Larus delawarensis_). L. 18. _Ads., summer._ Rill greenish yellow, a black band across tip; ends of primaries black, a white spot near tip of outer one. _Ads. Winter._ Similar, but head and neck streaked with grayish. _Yng._ Tail grayish with a broad black band; primaries black; back brownish gray and whitish; belly white; end half of bill black.

Range.--North America, coast and interior; breeds from Newfoundland, southern Minnesota, and British Columbia northward; winters from Nova Scotia and British Columbia south to Cuba and Lower California.

=55. Short-billed Gull= (_Larus brachyrhynchus_). L. 17; B. 1.50 _Ads., summer._ Head, neck, tail, and underparts white. Two outer primaries tipped with black, their white spaces followed by black; remaining primaries tipped with white. _Yng._ Grayish brown; basal half of tail pearl. _Notes._ "A sharp querulous _kwew-kwew_," (Nelson.)

Range.--North Pacific; breeds in Alaska and interior of northern British Columbia; winters on coast from British Columbia to southern California.

=42. Glaucous Gull= (_Larus glaucus_). L. 28; W. 17.1; B. 2.35. No black in plumage. _Ads._ Primaries white tinted with pearl; bill with red spot at end of lower mandible. _Yng._ Dirty white or gray, mottled with dusky and buffy, chiefly above; primaries white; outer webs brownish.

Range.--Northern hemisphere; breeds in America, from Labrador northward; winters south to middle California, Great Lakes and Long Island.

=42.1. Point Barrow Gull= (_Larus barrovianus_). Similar to No. 42, but bill through angle not so deep, (.8 as compared with .9 in _glaucus_); primaries more distinctly tipped with white. _Notes._ "_kû-kû-kû_, _kû-kû-kû_, _kû-lēē-ōō_, _kû-lēē-ōō_, _kû-lēē-ōō_, _kû-kû-kû_, _kû-kû-kû_, the _kû-kû_ hoarse, the rest a shrill screaming." (Nelson.)

Range.--"Bering Sea and contiguous waters; northeast to Point Barrow, southwest to Japan." (A.O.U.)

=43. Iceland Gull= (_Larus leucopterus_). L. 25; W. 16; B. 1.75. Similar in color to Nos. 42 and 42.1, but smaller.

Range.--Atlantic; breeds in Greenland; winters south in America to Great Lakes, and rarely, Long Island.

=44. Glaucous-winged Gull= (_Larus glaucescens_). L. 27. _Ads., summer._ Head, tail, and underparts white; back pearl; primaries _pearl_, tipped with _white_. _Ads., winter._ Head and neck streaked with brownish. _Yng._ Brownish gray, more or less mixed with white, including wings and tail.

Range.--North Pacific; breeds from British Columbia to Bering Straits; winters south to southern California.

=45. Kumlien Gull= (_Larus kumlieni_). W. 16.2; B. 1.75. Similar to No. 43, but primaries with well defined ashy gray spaces; outer primary tipped with white, with ashy gray on outer web and shaft part of inner web; second primary ashy gray on only shaft part of outer web.

Range.--"North Atlantic coast of North America, breeding in Cumberland Gulf; south in winter to the coast of the Middle States." (A.O.U.)

=46. Nelson Gull= (_Larus nelsoni_). "Wing 18.25, culmen 2.35. _Ads._ In plumage exactly like _L. kumlieni_; depth of bill through angle .80; tarsus 3.05; middle toe (without claw) 2.40." (Ridgway.)

Range.--"Coast of Norton Sound, Alaska." (A.O.U.)

=47. Great Black-backed Gull= (_Larus marinus_). L. 29. _Ads., summer._ Back and wings slaty black; wing feathers tipped with white. _Ads., winter._ Similar, but head and neck streaked with dusky. _Yng._ Back grayish brown margined with buffy white; rump whiter; primaries black; below white more or less marked with dusky. _Notes._ "A braying _ha-ha-ha_, a deep _keow_, _keow_, a short barking note, and a long-drawn groan, very loud and decidedly impressive." (Brewster.)

Range.--North Atlantic and northern Europe; breeds in North America from Nova Scotia to Greenland; winters south to Great Lakes and South Carolina.

=48. Slaty-backed Gull= (_Larus schistisagus_). L. 26. _Ads., summer._ General appearance of No. 47; back lighter; primaries as figured. _Ads., winter._ Head and neck streaked. _Yng._ Above brown margined with buff and white; primaries brown; tail brown with little or no mottling; below brown.

Range.--"North Pacific, chiefly on the Asiatic side; Herald Island, Arctic Ocean, and Alaskan coast of Bering Sea." (A.O.U.)

=49. Western Gull= (_Larus occidentalis_). L. 24. _Ads., summer._ Head, neck, tail, and underparts white; back slaty gray; outer primaries black, a large white spot near tip of first one. _Ads., winter._ Crown and hind neck streaked with brownish. _Yng._ Grayish brown mixed with white; wings and tail fuscous. _Notes._ _Ooēēk_, _ooēēk_, _ooēēk_; _ca-ca-ca_, and other calls.

Range.--Pacific coast; breeds and winters from Lower California to British Columbia.

=57. Heermann Gull= (_Larus heermanni_). L. 17. _Ads., summer._ Bill red; head and throat white, shading into slate above and below; tail blackish, tipped with white; primaries black. _Ads., winter._ Head and neck streaked with grayish brown. _Yng._ Uniform grayish brown.

Range.--Pacific coast of North America; breeds from Mazatlan, Mexico, north to Lower California; occurs regularly north to Vancouver Island; winters south to Panama.

=51. Herring Gull= (_Larus argentatus_). L. 24. _Ads., summer._ White spaces at end of outer primaries sometimes joined. _Ads., winter._ Similar, but head and neck, streaked with grayish. _Yng._ Above ashy brown, margined and marked with buffy; wings brownish black; tail the same; sometimes margined with buffy; below ashy brown, sometimes lightly barred or streaked with dusky. _Notes._ _Cack-cack-cack_; _hah_, _hah_, _hah_, and other notes.

Range.--Northern hemisphere; breeds in America from Maine, Great Lakes, Minnesota, and British Columbia northward; winters south to Cuba and Lower California.

=52. Vega Gull= (_Larus vegæ_). Similar to No. 51, but back said to be darker; feet yellow.

Range.--"Bering Sea and adjacent waters; south in winter to California and Japan." (A.O.U.)

=53. California Gull= (_Larus californicus_). L. 20. _Ads._ Similar to No. 54 but larger; a red spot near tip of lower mandible; white spot on outer primary, larger and nearer end. _Yng._ Similar to No. 54 but darker; tail nearly uniform fuscous.

Range.--Western North America; breeds chiefly in interior, from Utah to Lat. 68°, 30'; winters from British Columbia to Mexico.

=58. Laughing Gull= (_Larus atricilla_). L. 16. _Ads., summer._ Head dark slate; tail white; bill with reddish. _Ads., winter._ Similar, but head and throat white with grayish on nape and behind eyes. _Yng._ Tail grayish with a broad black band; nape and back ashy brown; forehead and under parts white. _Notes._ A nasal _cow-ow_, also _cuk-cuk-cuk_, and a high, long-drawn laugh.

Range.--Eastern North America; breeds from Texas and Florida to Maine and Nova Scotia; rare in interior; winters from South Carolina to northern South America.

=59. Franklin Gull= (_Larus franklini_). L. 15. _Ads., summer._ Breast with a rosy tinge; outer primaries with wide black spaces near ends, bordered at base and tip with white. _Ads., winter._ "Head mainly white, with [its] sides and back grayish dusky." _Yng._ "Top and sides of head and back grayish brown; quills dusky, tipped with white; tail with subterminal band of dusky; rest of tail, under parts, forehead, and eyelids white." (Bailey.)

Range.--Interior of North America; breeds from Iowa and Minnesota northward to Great Bear Lake; winters from west Gulf States to South America.

=60. Bonaparte Gull= (_Larus philadelphia_). L. 14. _Ads., summer._ Outer web of outer primaries and tip black; inner web and shaft white; bill black. _Ads., winter._ Similar, but throat and head white, its back grayish. _Yng._ Tail white, tipped with black; outer primary black, inner two-thirds of inner web and space near tip white; rest of plumage much as in young of No. 58.

Range.--North America; breeds in interior from Hudson Bay and Manitoba west to the Yukon; winters from British Columbia and Maine to Lower California and Gulf of Mexico.

=61. Ross Gull= (_Rhodostethia rosea_) L. 13.5. Bill small, .7; middle tail feathers longest. _Ads., summer._ White areas tinged with pink; a black collar. _Ads., winter._ No collar; a black spot before eye. _Yng._ Lesser coverts black, margined with whitish; tail white, central feathers tipped with black; back pearl; ear spot and space about eye dusky; crown white, washed with pearl.

Range.--"Arctic regions; south in autumn and winter to Kamchatka, Point Barrow, Alaska and Disco Bay, Greenland." (A.O.U.)

=62. Sabine Gull= (_Xema sabinii_). L. 14. Tail slightly forked. _Ads., summer._ Head and throat slaty black, margined behind with black; bill black, tipped with yellow; outer primaries black, small tip and inner half of inner web white. _Ads., winter._ Similar, but head and throat white; nape region dusky. _Yng._ Tail white, tipped with black; crown and back ashy brown; forehead and underparts white. _Notes._ "A single harsh grating note." (Nelson.)

Range.--Arctic regions: breeds in America from St. Michaels, Alaska and Melville Bay, Greenland, northward; winters south on Atlantic coast, rarely to New York; casually to Texas, and on Pacific coast to Peru.

Terns

=64. Caspian Tern= (_Sterna caspia_). L. 21. T. 6., forked 1.5. Largest of our Terns. _Ads., breeding._ Bill red; cap black; above pearl; below-white; _primaries frosty black_. After breeding, crown streaked black and white; bill more orange. _Yng._ Similar to last but wings and tail with blackish. _Notes._ A loud, harsh "_kay-awk_" or "_key-rak_."

Range.--Cosmopolitan; breeds in North America, locally from Texas to Newfoundland and Great Slave Lake; winters mostly south of United States; three California winter records.

=65. Royal Tern= (_Sterna maxima_). L. 19; T. 7, forked 3.5; B. 2.5. _Ads., summer._ _Primaries frosty black_, _white on inner two-thirds of inner web except at tip_, _where frosty_; bill orange red; crown black; above pearl; below white. _Ads., winter._ The same, but head white with black streaks. _Yng._ Similar to winter ad. but wings and tail with grayish.

Range.--Middle America; breeds from southern Brazil and Peru to Gulf States, Virginia, and California; wanders north to Great Lakes and Massachusetts; winters from Gulf States and California southward.

=66. Elegant Tern= (_Sterna elegans_). L. 16.5; B. 2.7. Similar to No. 65, but smaller; bill longer and more slender. _Ads._ Tinged with shell pink below.

Range.--"Pacific coast of America from California to Chili." (A.O.U.)

=67. Cabot Tern= (_Sterna sandvicensis acuflavida_). L. 16; T. 5.5, forked 2.7. _Ads., breeding._ Bill black, _the tip yellow_; crown black; above pearl; below white; primaries much as in No. 65. After breeding, head white; nape with black streaks. _Yng._ Similar to last but with back and tail with blackish; tip of bill less yellow.

Range.--Tropical America; breeds on east side of Mexico north along Gulf Coast to Florida, and Atlantic coast to South Carolina; wanders to Massachusetts; winters south of United States to West Indies and Central America.

=63. Gull-billed Tern= (_Gelochelidon nilotica_). L. 14.5; T. 5.5. _Ads., summer._ _Bill thick, short, black; tail short, forked only 1.5_; crown black; above pearl; below white. _Ads., winter._ Head white, with black patch before and behind eye. _Yng._ Similar, but above edged with buffy; head and neck streaked with grayish. _Notes._ A high, thin, somewhat reedy _tee-tee-tee_, sometimes suggesting a weak-voiced katydid.

Range.--Cosmopolitan; breeds in North America from Mexico to Florida and north to Virginia; wanders north rarely to New Brunswick; winters from southern Texas southward.

=73. Aleutian Tern= (_Sterna aleutica_). L. 14. T. 6.7, forked 3. _Ads., summer._ Above _and below_ pearl gray, browner below; throat white; crown black; _forehead white; line from bill to eye black_. _Ads., winter._ "With rather more white on forehead." (Cat. B. M.) _Notes._ "A thin, clear, trilling whistle." (Nelson.)

Range.--Alaska from Kadiak to Bering Strait, southwest to Japan.

=74. Least Tern= (_Sterna antillarum_). L. 9; T. 3.5, forked 1.7. _Ads., summer._ Bill _yellow_, _black_ at tip; forehead _white_; _a black line_ from bill to eye; crown black; above pearl; below white. _Ads., winter._ Crown white; nape black; bill dark; tail shorter. _Yng._ Similar to last, but above with buffy or brownish. _Notes._ "A sharp squeak much like the cry of a very young pig following its mother."

Range.--Western hemisphere; breeds locally from northern South America northward to Massachusetts, Dakota, and southern California; winters south of United States.

=76. Bridled Tern= (_Sterna anæthetus_). L. 15. _Ads._ Forehead and line _over_ eye white; _lores_ and crown black; nape whitish; back sooty gray or sooty brown; _outer_ tail feathers white, except at tip; inner ones grayish brown. _Notes._ A soft _qua_.

Range.--Tropical regions; north in Atlantic to the Bahamas; casual in Florida.

=69. Forster Tern= (_Sterna forsteri_). L. 15; T. 7, forked. 4. _Ads., summer._ _Inner_ web of outer tail feather dusky; below _pure white_; bill _orange_, blackish at end; crown black; back pearl. _Ads., winter._ Crown white or grayish; _a large black spot about eyes_; bill black. _Yng._ Similar to winter ad. but above with brownish. _Notes._ A long drawn, deep, reedy _cack_ and _tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet_.

Range.--North America; breeds locally north to California, and from Texas along coast to Virginia and in interior to Manitoba; wanders to Massachusetts; winters from southern California and Texas south to Brazil.

=70. Common Tern= (_Sterna hirundo_). L. 15; T. 5.5, forked, 3.2 _Ads., summer._ Outer web of outer tail feather dusky; below white, _washed with dusky_; bill _red_, blackish at end; crown black; back pearl. _Ads., winter._ Forehead and underparts white; bill black. _Yng._ Similar to last, but above with brownish; tail shorter. _Notes._ A vibrant, purring, _tearrr_, and other calls.

Range.--Northern hemisphere; in America, chiefly east of Plains; breeds locally on coast and in interior from Gulf States to Barren Grounds and Greenland; winters south of United States to Brazil.

=71. Arctic Tern= (_Sterna paradisæa_). L. 15.5; T. 7.2 forked 4.5. Similar to No. 70, but _summer ad._ with bill _wholly bright red_; tail longer; tarsus shorter, .6 instead of .7. _Notes._ Like _tearr_ of No. 70, but shriller, ending in rising inflection, like squeal of a pig. (Brewster.)

Range.--Northern hemisphere; breeds from Massachusetts north to Greenland and northwest to Aleutian Islands and Alaska; winters south to California and Virginia.

=72. Roseate Tern= (_Sterna dougalli_). L. 15.5; T. 7.5, forked, 5.2. _Ads., summer._ _Bill black, reddish only at the base; below white tinged with shell pink_; tail wholly white; crown black; back pearl. _Ads., winter._ Forehead with white; no pink below. Notes. A reedy cack.

Range.--Temperate and tropical regions; breeds in North America on east coast only, from Florida north to Nova Scotia; rare north of Virginia; winters south of United States to Venezuela.

Terns and Skimmer

=75. Sooty Tern= (_Sterna fuliginosa_). L. 17. _Ads., summer._ _Above blackish_, forehead and underparts white; tail black, except outer feathers which are mostly white. _Yng._ Sooty slate; linings of wings white; scapulars, upper tail coverts, and tail feathers tipped with white. _Notes._ A squeaky _quack_, a nasal _ker-wacky-wak_, and other calls.

Range.--"Tropical and subtropical coasts of the globe. In America from Chili to western Mexico and the Carolinas, and casually to New England." (A.O.U.)

=77. Black Tern= (_Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis_). L. 10. _Ads., summer._ Head and underparts black; back, wings, and tail slate. _Ads., winter._ Forehead, nape, and underparts _white_; head gray. _Yng._ Similar to last, but above with brownish margins. _Notes._ A sharp _peek_.

Range.--Temperate and tropical America; breeds in interior from California, Kansas, and Illinois to Alaska; irregular migrant on Atlantic coast from New Brunswick southward; winters south of United States to Chili.

=79. Noddy= (_Anous stolidus_). L. 15. _Ads._ Crown silvery white; rest of plumage _sooty brown_. _Yng._ Similar, but all sooty brown except white line from bill to eye. _Notes._ A low reedy _cack_ increasing to a hoarse, guttural _k-r-r-r-r-r-r-r_.

Range.--"Tropical and subtropical regions; in America from Brazil and Chili north to the Gulf and South Atlantic States." (A.O.U.)

=80. Black Skimmer= (_Rynchops nigra_). L. 18. _Ads. Lower mandible longer than upper_; forehead, underparts, part of secondaries, and tail white; rest of plumage black. _Yng._ Plumage widely margined with buffy. _Notes._ Varied, nasal, penny-trumpet-like; also _ca-you_, _ca-you_, like a hound's voice.

Range.--North America, chiefly eastern; breeds from southern New Jersey southward; wanders rarely to Nova Scotia; winters from Gulf States to northern South America.

Order III. TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS.

TUBINARES.

Family 1. ALBATROSSES. Diomedeidæ. 4 species.

Family 2. FULMARS, SHEARWATERS, and PETRELS. Procellariidæ. 26 species, 1 subspecies.

The Albatrosses, of which about ten species are known, are birds of far southern seas, where they nest on isolated islands. After the young are reared, several species migrate northward and are found off our Pacific coast. The largest known species, the Wandering Albatross, which has been made famous by Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," measures from twelve to fourteen feet in expanse of wing, and, like other members of this family, is a tireless ocean wanderer.

In the museum of Brown University, there is a mounted Wandering Albatross, killed off the coast of Chili by Capt. Hiram Luther, December 20, 1847. When captured, a small bottle was found tied around the bird's neck, containing a slip of paper from which it was learned that the bottle had been attached to the bird December 12, 1847, by Capt. Edwards of the New Bedford Whaler, "Euphrates," when about 800 miles off the coast of New Zealand, or about 3,400 miles from the point at which, eight days later, the bird was secured.

The Fulmars, (genus _Fulmarus_), are northern birds and nest in immense numbers on isolated islets, somewhat like certain Gulls.

Comparatively little is known of the nesting places of our Shearwaters, but it is believed that most of them breed on the islands of the South Atlantic and South Pacific, and pass their winter, (our summer) off our coasts.

One of the Petrels, (Wilson Petrel), is known to have this habit. It has been found nesting on Kerguelen Island, in S. Lat. 49° 54', in February, and in May it appears off our coasts for the summer.

Petrels nest in holes in the ground, laying one white egg. They are never seen near their homes during the day, the bird then on the nest waiting until night to feed, when the one which has been at sea returns to assume its share of the task of incubation. Those birds are therefore both diurnal and nocturnal.

Albatrosses

=81. Black-footed Albatross= (_Diomedea nigripes_). L. 32. _Ads._ Sooty brown, lighter below; region about base of bill whitish; upper mandible _broad and rounded at its base_. _Notes._ A whining groan, uttered when contesting for food. (Turner).

Range.--North Pacific; north to Lat. 52°; south at least to Lower California.

=82. Short-tailed Albatross= (_Diomedea albatrus_). L. 36. _Ads._ White; the head straw; tail and primaries gray brown; upper mandible broad and rounded at base.

Range.--North Pacific, north to Bering Strait; south, at least, to Lower California.

=82.1. Laysan Albatross= (_Diomedea immutabilis_). L. 32. _Ads._ Head, neck, rump, upper tail coverts, and whole under surface white; lores next to the eye sooty black; back, wings, and end of the tail dark sooty brown; interscapular region paler; base of the tail whitish. (Cat. B. M.)

Range.--Laysan Island, Pacific Ocean; casual off the coast of Lower California.

=83. Yellow-nosed Albatross= (_Thalassogeron culminatus_). L. 36. _Ads._ Above slate brown, grayer on head; rump white; below white; neck sometimes grayish; tail gray.

Range.--"Indian and southern Pacific Oceans; casual off the coast of Oregon; accidental in the Gulf of St. Lawrence." (A.O.U.)

=84. Sooty Albatross= (_Phœbetria fuliginosa_). L. 35. _Ads._ _Sides of lower mandible conspicuously grooved_; entire plumage sooty brown, except a white eye-ring.

Range.--"Oceans of southern hemisphere, north to the coast of Oregon." (A.O.U.)

Fulmars and Shearwaters

=86. Fulmar= (_Fulmarus glacialis_). L. 19; W. 13; B. 1.5. _Ads. Light phase._ Head, neck, and under parts white; back, wings, and tail slaty gray. _Dark phase._ Uniform dark slaty gray. _Notes._ Silent.

Range.--North Atlantic, breeds from Lat. 69° northward; winters south to Lat. of Massachusetts, and rarely to Virginia.

=86b. Pacific Fulmar= (_F. g. glupischa_). Similar to No. 86, but nasal tubes light.

Range.--North Pacific; breeds from Bering Sea north; winters south to Mexico.

=86.1. Rodger Fulmar= (_Fulmarus rodgersii_). Similar to light phase of No. 86, but back with white feathers; no dark phase.

Range.--"Bering Sea and adjacent parts of North Pacific." (A.O.U.)