Plate CCCXIV. Male and Young.
Bill moderately stout, and with the feet, margin of eyelids, and
inside of mouth deep carmine; wings extending three inches beyond the
tail, which is even; head and upper neck all round blackish lead-grey,
darker on the upper part of the head and along the posterior margin,
which descends lower in front, or to the extent of about two inches
and a half from the base of the lower mandible; two narrow white bands
bordering the upper and lower eyelids; lower neck all round, the whole
lower surface, rump and tail white, but the fore part of the neck and
the breast down to the legs, of a beautiful light rosy tint; back and
wings greyish-blue, with a slight tinge of purple, excepting a large
terminal portion of the secondaries, and the tips of the primaries,
which are white; first primary black, with a tinge of grey on the
inner web at the base; second and third similar, with the grey more
extended; the fourth with it extending over two-thirds, the fifth
black only for an inch and a half, on the sixth the black reduced to
two spots near the end; the other parts and the remaining primaries of
the same general colour as the back. Female similar, but considerably
smaller. In winter, the head white, the feathers on its upper part and
the nape more or less brownish-grey in their concealed part, that
colour appearing in slight patches here and there, and especially
along the posterior margin of the part that is coloured in summer, as
well as on a small space before the eye; in other respects the plumage
as in summer, but without the rosy tint. Young, when fledged, with the
bill, feet, inside of mouth, and edges of eyelids olivaceous brown;
upper parts brownish-grey, the feathers edged with paler; hind part of
back light bluish-grey; upper tail-coverts nearly white; tail pale
greyish-blue, with a broad band of brownish-black at the end, the
extreme tips narrowly edged with white, the outer margin of the
lateral feathers of the same colour; the first four primaries
destitute of white at the tip; a small patch before the eye, two
slight bands on the eyelids, and the throat, greyish-white; lower part
of neck brownish-grey; the rest of the lower parts greyish-white, the
sides darker, the axillars ash-grey, lower surface of wing dusky grey.
_Adult_, 17, 40-3/4.
Most abundant from Texas to Massachusetts, breeding along the coast.
Up the Mississippi to New Orleans. Those which in spring remove to the
eastward of the Floridas return early in autumn.
Black-headed Gull, Larus ridibundus, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. ix.
p. 89.
Larus atricilla, Bonap. Syn. p. 359.
Black-headed Gull, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 291.
Black-headed or Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla, Aud. Orn.
Biog. v. iv. p. 118.