IVORY GULL
39. Pagophila alba. 17 in.
Entirely pure white with the shafts of the primaries yellowish; bill
dark at base and yellow at tip; eyes brown, surrounded by a narrow red
ring; feet black. Young birds are spotted with brown on the head, tips
of wing and tail. This beautiful “Snow Gull,” as it is called by
whalers, is abundant at its breeding ground in the Arctic regions, but
is rarely seen as far south as the United States. It breeds the farthest
north of any of the gulls except Ross Gull.
Nest.—Of grasses and seaweed, usually on ledges of cliffs, but
occasionally on the ground farther inland. The three eggs, laid in June,
are grayish-buff, marked with brown and black (2.30 × 1.70).
Range.—Breeds only north of the Arctic Circle, and winters south to New
Brunswick and British Columbia; casually to Long Island and the Great
Lakes.
[Illustration: ]
KITTIWAKE
40. Rissa tridactyla. 16 in.
In summer, with plumage white, except the gray back and wings, and solid
black tips to the primaries; in winter, the sides and back of the head
are washed with the color of the back; young birds are like winter
adults but have a dusky spot back of the eye; feet blackish, bill yellow
in adults and black in young birds. Kittiwakes are very abundant in
their northern breeding ground, and are common off the New England coast
in winter. They usually keep well out at sea, often hovering around
fishing boats to pick up refuse that is thrown overboard. They can
easily be identified by their small size, the distinct black tip to the
wings and their black feet.
Notes.—“Keet-a-wake, keet-a-wake.”
Nest.—A pile of small sticks, grass and weeds, placed on ledges of sea
cliffs. The 3 or 4 eggs are olive gray, with black markings (2.20 ×
1.70).
Range.—Breeds from the Gulf of St. Lawrence north to the Arctic Circle;
winters south to Long Island and casually farther.
[Illustration: ]
GLAUCUS GULL
42. Larus hyperboreus. 28 in.
Plumage white with a pearl gray mantle; no black in the plumage, the
primaries being white or grayish; bill and eye yellow, the former with a
red spot at the end of the lower mandible; feet flesh color. In winter,
the head is slightly streaked with brownish. Young birds are mottled
grayish brown and white, of varying shades, but always lighter than the
young of the Herring Gull. Some specimens are very beautiful, being
entirely white, with a few spots of brownish on the back, resembling the
markings of a light-colored Snowy Owl. This species is one of the
largest and most powerful of the gull family, only surpassed by the
Great Black-backed Gull.
Nest.—Usually a bulky structure of grasses, seaweed and moss placed on
the ground; the two or three eggs are brownish gray with brown and black
spots (3. × 2.20).
Range.—Breeds from Labrador and Hudson Bay northward; winters south to
New England, the Great Lakes and Calif.
[Illustration: ]
ICELAND GULL
43. Larus leucopterus. 25 in.
Plumage exactly like that of the Glaucus Gull but the birds are smaller
and are found farther north.
Range.—Breeds in Greenland and winters south to Northern New England and
the Great Lakes.
KUMLIEN GULL
45. Larus kumlieni. 27 in.
Plumage very similar to that of the Iceland and Glaucus Gulls, but with
the primaries conspicuously gray, with white tips. As usual with the
gull family, this species feeds largely, during the nesting season upon
eggs and young of other sea birds. They seem to have a special liking
for Cormorant eggs, and these ungainly creatures have to sit on their
nests very closely to prevent being robbed.
Range.—Breeds about the mouth of Hudson Bay; winters south to Long
Island.
[Illustration: ]
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL
47. Larus marinas. 29 in.
Largest and most powerful of our gulls. Adults in summer have the head,
tail and underparts white, back slaty black, eyes and bill yellow, with
a red spot near the tip of the lower mandible; feet flesh color;
primaries tipped with white. In winter, the head is streaked with dusky.
Young birds are mottled with dusky brown above, and streaked with the
same below. These birds are very rapacious, and besides feeding upon
refuse, fish and shellfish, devour, during the summer season, a great
many eggs and young of other sea birds; this habit is common to nearly
all the larger gulls.
Notes.—A laughing “ha-ha” and a harsh “keouw.”
Nest.—Either hollows on the ground or masses of weeds and drift,
hollowed out to receive the three grayish brown eggs, spotted with
blackish and lilac (3. × 2.15).
Range.—These gulls breed from Newfoundland northward, being most
abundant on the Labrador coast. In winter they are found as far south as
the Carolinas, usually in company with Herring Gulls.
[Illustration: ]
HERRING GULL
51. Larus argentatus. 24 in.
Adults in summer, white, with gray mantle, and black primaries tipped
with white. In winter, the head and neck are streaked below with grayish
brown. Bills of adults, yellow with red spot on lower mandible; eye
yellow; feet flesh color; bill of young, flesh color with a blackish
tip. These are the most abundant of the larger gulls and the best known
because of their southerly distribution. Several of the smaller Maine
islands have colonies of thousands of birds each, and in winter great
numbers of them are seen in all the harbors along our seacoast. Young
gulls are born covered with down, and can run swiftly and swim well.
Notes.—“Cack-cack-cack” and very noisy squawkings when disturbed at
their breeding grounds.
Nest.—A hollow in the ground, or a heap of weeds and trash. The three
eggs are olive-gray, spotted with black (2.8 × 1.7).
Range.—Breeds from Maine, the Great Lakes and Dakotas northward; winters
south to the Gulf of Mexico.
[Illustration: ]
RING-BILLED GULL
54. Larus delawarensis. 18 in.
Adults in summer.—White with pearl gray mantle; ends of outer primaries
black with white tips; eye yellow; feet and bill greenish-yellow, the
latter crossed by a black band near the tip. In winter, the head and
neck are streaked with grayish. Young birds are mottled brownish-gray
above, and the tail has a band of blackish near the end.
The adults can be distinguished from the Kittiwakes, which most closely
resemble them, by the yellowish feet and white tips to the black
primaries.
Nest.—In hollows in the ground, usually in grass. The two or three eggs
are gray or brownish gray, strongly marked with black (2.80 × 1.75).
They breed in large colonies, often in company with other gulls and
terns.
Range.—Whole or North America, breeding from Newfoundland, Dakota and
British Columbia northwards, most abundantly in the interior; winters
from Northern United States southward.
[Illustration: ]
LAUGHING GULL
58. Larus atricilla. 16 in.
Largest of the black-headed gulls. Bill and feet carmine-red; primaries
wholly black or only with slight white tips; eye brown; in breeding
season, with the underparts tinged with pinkish. In winter, without the
black hood, the head being tinged with grayish, and the bill and feet
dusky. Young birds are like winter adults with the back more or less
mixed with brownish and the tail crossed by a black band. The most
southerly distributed of our eastern gulls, its northern breeding place
being on the southern shore of Mass.
Notes.—Strange cackling laughter; hence their name.
Nest.—Heaps of rubbish and weeds on the ground in wet marshes. The 3 to
5 eggs are gray or olive-gray with black spots (2.25 × 1.60).
Range.—Breeds from the Gulf of Mexico north to Mass., and in the
interior to Ohio, but most abundantly on the South Atlantic coast.
Winters from the Carolinas to Northern South America.
[Illustration: ]
FRANKLIN GULL
59. Larus franklini. 15 in.
Adult in summer.—Hood dark; mantle lighter than the last species;
primaries gray with black ends broadly tipped with white; underparts
rosy; bill and feet red, the former dark toward the tip, and more
slender than that of the Laughing Gull. In winter, the plumage changes
the same as that of the last but the color of the primaries and the
shape of the bill will always identify this species. These gulls are
strictly birds of the interior, nesting on low marshy islands in ponds
or sloughs, often in company with grebes, upon whose eggs they subsist
to a great extent.
Notes.—Similar to those of the last species.
Nest.—A mass of weeds, etc., on the ground in marshes, often partly
floating in the water. The eggs are similar to those of the Laughing
Gull but the markings are usually in the form of zigzag lines as well as
spots (2.25 × 1.60).
Range.—Interior of North America, breeding from Iowa and the Dakotas
north to Middle Canada; winters from the Gulf States southward.
[Illustration: ]
BONAPARTE GULL
60. Larus philadelphia. 14 in.
Adult in summer.—Hood lighter gray and not as extensive as in the last
two species; bill slender and black; feet coral red; primaries white
with black tips and outer web of first one; mantle paler than either of
the last. In winter, the head is white with gray spots back of the eyes.
Young birds have the back mixed with brownish and the tail with a band
of black near the tip, but the bill and primaries always separate this
species in any plumage from the other black-headed gulls. These little
gulls are one of the most beautiful and graceful of the family, but they
are rarely found in the U. S. with the dark hood.
Nest.—Of weeds and grass on the ground, but not in the watery situations
chosen by the preceding species. The three eggs are olive-brown, marked
with blackish (1.90 × 1.30).
Range.—Breeds in the interior from Hudson Bay and Northern Manitoba
northward. Winters from Maine, the Great Lakes and British Columbia
southward.
[Illustration: ]
ROSS GULL; WEDGE-TAILED GULL
61. Rhodostethia rosea. 13 in.
Bill short and slender; tail wedge-shaped. Adults in summer.—With no
hood, but with narrow black collar; mantle light pearl; primaries wholly
white with the exception of a blackish outer web to the first one; feet
coral red, and underparts tinged with rosy in the nesting season. In
winter, with no black collar nor pink underparts, and with blackish spot
before the eye. Young mixed with blackish above, and with a black band
across the tip of the tail; feet black; easily distinguished, when in
the hand, by the very small bill, and the wedge shaped tail. This gull
has the most northern distribution of any known bird, except, possibly,
the Knot. Its breeding grounds were first reported by Nansen in 1896, in
Franz Josef Land. It is one of the rarest birds in collections.
Range.—Polar regions, south in winter to Point Barrow, Alaska, and Disco
Bay, Greenland.
[Illustration: ]
SABINE GULL
62. Xema sabini. 14 in.
Tail slightly forked; bill small and black, tipped with yellow. Adults
in summer.—Head with a slaty-gray hood, edged with a black ring around
the neck; outer primaries black, with white tips, and edge of shoulder
black; feet blackish; eye ring orange red. In winter, without the hood
or collar, but the head is tinged with gray on the ears and nape. Young
birds most nearly resemble those of the Bonaparte Gull, but the
primaries are blackish, and the tail slightly forked. This species is
very abundant within the Arctic Circle, but is not as boreal as the
last.
Nest.—In depressions in the ground, usually lined with grass; the three
eggs are olive-brown, marked with deeper brown and black (1.75 × 1.25).
Range.—Breeds from northern Alaska and the islands about the mouth of
Hudson Bay northwards; winters south on the Atlantic coast to Maine and
rarely New York.
[Illustration: ]
GULL-BILLED TERN
63. Gelochelidon nilotica. 14 in.
Differs from all other terns in the shape of its black bill, which is
stout, but with the upper mandible not hooked nor curved, as in the
gulls. Tail forked about 1.5 in. Adults have the crown black in summer,
while in winter the head is white, with the nape and spot in front of
eye, black mixed with white. Young birds are similar to winter adults
but have the back feathers margined with brownish, and the neck streaked
with gray. This species is found only on our South Atlantic and Gulf
coasts, and is not abundant anywhere.
Notes.—A high, thin, somewhat reedy “tee-tee-tee,” sometimes suggesting
a weak voiced katydid (Chapman).
Nest.—A slight, unlined depression in the short marsh grass or on the
beaches. The three eggs are olive gray, spotted with black and brown
(1.80 × 1.30).
Range.—Breeds in Texas and along the Gulf and South Atlantic coasts to
Virginia; later, may wander north to New England; winters south of the
U. S.
[Illustration: ]
CASPIAN TERN
64. Sterna caspia. 21 in.
Largest of our terns. Bill heavy and bright red; head crested; tail
forked about 1.5 in.; eyes brown. Adults in summer have the crown and
occipital crest glossy black. Winter adults and young birds have the
crown mixed with white, and the latter are also blotched with blackish
on wings and tail.
Nest.—The 2 or 3 buffy, spotted eggs are laid in hollows in the sand.
Size 2.60 × 1.75.
Range.—Breeds locally along the South Atlantic coast and in the interior
to Great Slave Lake.
ROYAL TERN
65. Sterna maxima. 19 in.
Similar to the last, but smaller; bill more slender; tail forked 3.5 in.
Nest.—A hollow in the sand. The 2 or 3 eggs are creamy buff, with
distinct blackish-brown spots (2.60 × 1.70).
Range.—Breeds in the Gulf States and north to Virginia and Calif.;
winters south of the U. S.
[Illustration: ]
CABOT TERN
67. Sterna sandvicensis acuflavida. 16 in.
Head crested; bill and feet blackish, the former with a yellow tip.
Adults have the crown glossy black. Young birds, and winter adults, have
the crown mixed with white, and the former have blackish markings on the
wings; tail forked 2.75 in. Like the majority of terns, these breed in
immense colonies.
Nest.—Their two or three eggs are deposited in slight hollows in the
sand. They are cream colored, boldly spotted with blackish brown (2.10 ×
1.40).
Range.—Breeds on the Florida Keys, Bahamas and the West Indies; later
may stray north as far as New England; winters south of the United
States.
TRUDEAU TERN
69. Sterna trudeaui. 14 in.
This is a rare South American species, described by Audubon as having
occurred in New Jersey and New York. It has the form of the Forster
Tern, a bright yellow bill and no black crown, but a black line through
the eye to the ears.
[Illustration: ]
FORSTER TERN
69. Sterna forsteri. 15 in.
No crest on this or any of the following terns. Tail forked 4 in.; below
pure white. In summer, with bill and feet orange red; crown black. In
winter, the crown is white, but there is a blackish patch about the
eyes, and the bill and feet are dark. These beautiful birds are often
known as “Sea Swallows,” because of their similarity in form and flight
to those well known land birds. They are the embodiment of grace as they
dart about high in the air, bill pointed downward, alert and ready to
dart down upon any small fish or eel that may attract their fancy. They
usually get their food by plunging.
Notes.—A sharp, twanging “cack.”
Nest.—A hollow in the ground, in which the 3 eggs are laid in June. Eggs
whitish, greenish or brownish, variously marked with brown, black and
lavender (1.80 × 1.30).
Range.—Breeds in the interior, north to Manitoba, and on the coasts to
Virginia and Calif. Winters from the Gulf States southward.
[Illustration: ]
COMMON TERN
70. Sterna hirundo. 15 in.
Mantle darker than that of any of the similar terns; washed with grayish
below; bill and feet bright red, the former shading to black on the tip;
tail less deeply forked (3.1 in.); edge of outer primaries and outer
tail feathers, blackish. Changes in winter correspond to those of the
last. Young birds have the feathers on the back margined with brownish.
Note.—An energetic “tee-arr, tee-arr.”
Nest.—The three eggs are laid in a slight hollow on the sandy beach.
Range.—Breeds locally from the Gulf States to Greenland and Hudson Bay;
winters south of the U. S.
ARCTIC TERN
71. Sterna paradisæa. 15.5 in.
Similar to the Common Tern, but tail longer (forked 4.5 in.) and bill
wholly red. In winter, bill and feet dark, as are those of the others.
Range.—Breeds from Mass. northwards; winters in the south.
[Illustration: ]
ROSEATE TERN
72. Sterna dougalli. 15.5 in.
This species is the most gracefully formed of the terns. The tail is 7.5
in. long, forked to a depth of 5.25 in. In summer, the bill is blackish,
changing to red only at the base. The underparts are a beautiful rosy
tint in the breeding season; tail entirely white; feet red. In winter
the usual changes occur, and young birds have dusky edges to the
feathers of the back and wings. Terns are now becoming more abundant on
our coast, their slaughter and persecution for millinery purposes
fortunately having been stopped in time to prevent their extinction.
They feed chiefly upon small fish and marine insects, and often gather
about fishing boats, waiting for an opportunity to dive after any bit
that may be thrown overboard.
Notes.—A harsh “cack” and “tee-arr,” like that of the common Tern.
Nest.—Eggs like those of the similar terns.
Range.—Breeds on the Atlantic coast north to Mass.; winters south of the
U. S.
[Illustration: ]
LEAST TERN
74. Sterna antillarum. 9 in.
Smallest of our terns. Adult in summer.—Crown, nape, and line through
the eye, black; forehead and line above the eye, white; bill and feet
yellow, the former black at the tip. In winter, the crown is white, the
blackish being restricted to the nape and about the eyes.
These pretty little sea swallows were abundant both on the coast and in
the interior but are yearly becoming more scarce especially on the
Atlantic coast. They are very aggressive when anyone approaches their
nesting grounds and will continually dash down at you as they utter
their sharp cries of disapproval.
Notes.—A sharp, metallic clattering “cheep, cheep.”
Nest.—Two or three eggs are laid upon the bare sand. They are
buffy-gray, sharply specked with blackish (1.25 × .95).
Range.—Breeds north to Mass., the Great Lakes and Calif.; winters south
of the United States.
[Illustration: ]
SOOTY TERN
75. Sterna fuscata. 17 in.
Adult in summer.—Above sooty-black, except the white outer tail
feathers. Crown, line through the eye, bill and feet, black; forehead
and underparts white; eye red. Young birds are smoky slate color all
over, with the tail feathers, and some on the back and breast, tipped
with whitish. This is the “egg bird” of tropical countries, thousands of
their eggs being taken for food.
Note.—A nasal “ker-wacky-wak” (Chapman).
Nest.—A single egg deposited in a hollow in the sand; it is
creamy-white, spotted with blackish-brown.
Range.—Tropical countries; breeds north to the Florida Keys and islands
in the Gulf of Mexico; sometimes wanders north to New England.
BRIDLED TERN
76. Sterna anætheta. 15 in.
Similar to the last, but the back and wings much lighter, and the white
of the forehead extends over the eyes; nape whitish.
Range.—Breeds north to the Bahamas.
[Illustration: ]
BLACK TERN
77. Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis. 10 in.
Adults in summer with the head, neck and underparts, black; back, wings
and tail, dark gray; eyes brown. In winter, the forehead, neck and
underparts are white; nape and patch back of eye blackish.
In summer these little terns are found only in the interior, where they
nest about marshy ponds. They are very pugnacious and will sometimes
touch an intruder with their wings as they dart past. As usual with the
family, they nest in colonies.
Notes.—A sharp “peek.” (Chapman).
Nest.—A pile of weeds and trash in sloughs on the prairies, or about the
edges of marshy lakes, the nests often being surrounded by, and partly
floating in the water. The three eggs are very dark colored, having an
olive-brown or greenish background, blotched with black (1.35 × .95).
Range.—Breeds in the interior from middle U. S. north to Alaska and
Hudson Bay; winters south of the U. S., migrating along the Atlantic
coast as well as in the interior.
[Illustration: ]
NODDY
79. Anous stolidus. 15 in.
Adults with the crown silvery-white, the rest of the plumage being
sooty-brown; the bill, feet and line to the eye are black. The plumage
of these beautiful birds is very soft and pleasing to the eye. They look
to be gentle and confiding, and a closer acquaintance shows that they
are. They will frequently allow themselves to be touched with the hand
before they leave their nests. They are abundant in some of the Bahaman
and West Indian Islands, where they nest in company with other species.
Notes.—A hoarse reedy “cack” increasing to a guttural “k-r-r-r-r-r-r-r.”
(Chapman).
Nest.—Of sticks and grasses, placed at low elevations in the tops of
trees and bushes, or upon the ground. The single egg that they lay is
buffy, spotted with black and brown (2.00 × 1.30).
Range.—Breeds north to the Bahamas and on Bird Key near Key West; rarely
wanders on the Atlantic coast to South Carolina.
[Illustration: ]