449. 9. Larus leucopterus, Fabr. White-winged Silvery Gull
Plate CCLXXXII. Adult and Young.
Bill stout, gamboge-yellow, with a spot of orange-red near the end of the lower mandible; angle of the mouth and edges of eyelids orange-red; feet pale flesh-colour; wings more than two inches longer than the tail; plumage pure white, excepting the back and upper surface of the wings, which are light greyish-blue; the tips of the secondaries, the terminal third of the primaries, and the upper tail-coverts, also white. Young in second plumage with the bill yellow, tipped with black, the feet yellowish flesh-colour; plumage yellowish-grey, marked on the head and neck with longitudinal streaks of pale brown, on the back and wings with transverse undulations, those on the tail much fainter; the first six quills destitute of markings.
Adult, 26, 50.
During winter from New York to Nova Scotia. Not rare. Breeds on the islands and peninsulas of the Arctic Seas.
Larus leucopterus, Bonap. Syn. p. 361.
Larus leucopterus, White-winged Silvery Gull, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 418.
White-winged Silvery Gull, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 305.
White-winged Silvery Gull, Larus leucopterus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 553.
450. 10. Larus occidentalis, Aud. Western Gull
Not figured.
Bill robust, compressed, yellow, with an orange-red patch toward the end of the lower mandible; iris light hazel; feet flesh-coloured; head, neck, lower parts, rump, and tail pure white; back and wings light greyish-blue, of a deeper tint than in L. argentatus; edges of the wings and extremities of the quills white; first seven quills greyish-black toward the end, that colour including the outer webs and the greater part of the inner of the two first, and on the rest gradually diminishing, so as on the seventh merely to form a subterminal bar; the first quill with a patch of white on both webs near the end; the tips of all white. Young male in winter with the bill black, feet flesh-coloured; upper part and sides of the head, hind part and sides of the neck, light brownish-grey, faintly mottled and streaked with white; upper parts in general greyish-brown, confusedly mottled with whitish; rump white barred with brown; primary quills greyish-black, without white at the end; secondary quills similar, more grey toward the base, margined and tipped with white, undulated with brown; tail greyish-black, tipped with whitish; lower parts greyish-white, mottled with greyish-brown. This species, which is very intimately allied to Larus argentatus, is remarkable for the great depth and comparative shortness of its bill.
Male, 27, wing 171/4, but the feathers not complete.
Western Gull, Larus occidentalis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 320.
451. 11. Larus argentatus, Brunnich. Herring or Silvery Gull
Plate CCXCI. Adult and Young.
Bill robust, compressed, gamboge-yellow, with an orange-red patch toward the end of the lower mandible; iris silvery-white; feet flesh-coloured; head, neck, lower parts, rump, and tail pure white; back and wings light greyish-blue; edges of wing and extremities of quills white; the first six quills brownish-black towards the end, that colour including the outer webs and the greater part of the inner of the first two, and on the rest gradually diminishing, so as on the sixth merely to form a bar; the first quill with a patch of white about an inch and a half long on both webs near the end, the second with a circular patch on the inner web; the tips of all white. The terminal markings of the outer quills vary. Young with the bill brownish-black, paler at the base of the lower mandible, feet purplish flesh-colour; general colour of plumage light purplish-grey, the upper part of the head darker, the lower parts mottled with pale yellowish-grey; feathers of upper parts and upper tail-coverts irregularly edged and barred with greyish-white; primary quills greyish-black, terminally margined with whitish; tail of the same colour, its base and the outer webs of the lateral feathers irregularly mottled with whitish, the tips brownish-white.
Male, 23, 53. Young, in winter, 183/4, 51.
Abundant in autumn, winter, and early spring, from Texas along the whole Atlantic coast to Newfoundland. Breeds from the Bay of Fundy to Melville Island. Common in autumn on the Great Lakes, the Ohio, and Mississippi.
Larus argentatus, Bonap. Syn. p. 360.
Herring Gull, Larus argentatus, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 304.
Herring Gull, Larus argentatus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 588; v. v. p. 638.
452. 12. Larus glaucus, Brunn. Glaucous Gull. – Burgomaster
Plate CCCXCVI. Adult and Young.
Bill stout, compressed, gamboge yellow, with a carmine patch toward the end of the lower mandible; iris yellow; feet flesh-coloured; second quill slightly longer than the first; tail slightly rounded; head, neck, lower parts, rump, and tail pure white; back and wings light greyish-blue; the edges of the wing and a large portion of all the quills toward the end, white. Young when fledged with the bill yellow, in its terminal third black; feet flesh-coloured; plumage very pale yellowish-brown, the feathers of the upper parts with a large dusky spot toward the end, the quills and tail-feathers barred with the same.
Adult, 30; wing, 191/2.
Met with in Labrador in summer. Baffin's Bay and Arctic Seas generally. Not observed within the limits of the United States.
Larus glaucus, Bonap. Syn. p. 361.
Larus glaucus, Burgomaster Gull, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 416.
Glaucous Gull or Burgomaster, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 306.
Glaucous Gull or Burgomaster, Larus glaucus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 59.
453. 13. Larus marinus, Linn. Great Black-backed Gull
Plate CCXLI. Male.
Bill robust, compressed, gamboge yellow, with a patch of carmine toward the end of the lower mandible, feet flesh-coloured; head, neck, lower parts, rump and tail, pure white; back and wings deep blackish-purple or dark slate-colour; edges of wing and a large portion of the extremities of all the quills white; the second, third, fourth, and fifth primaries with a broad band of black across their ends. Young when fledged with the bill brownish-black, the iris dark brown, the feet as in the adult; the head and neck greyish-white, streaked with pale brownish-grey; upper parts mottled with brownish-black, brownish-grey, and dull white, the rump paler; primary quills blackish-brown, slightly tipped with brownish-white; tail-feathers white, with a large brownish-black patch towards the end, larger on the middle feathers, which are also barred towards the base with dusky; lower parts greyish-white, sides and lower tail-coverts obscurely mottled with greyish-brown.
Male, 291/2, 67.
Not uncommon during winter as far south as Florida, the young especially. Common from New York to Labrador, where it breeds. Lake Erie, Ontario, the St Lawrence, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers. Columbia River.
Larus marinus, Linn. Syst. Nat. v. i. p. 225.
Black-backed Gull or Cobb, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 308.
Great Black-billed Gull, Larus marinus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 305; v. v. p. 636.
FAMILY XLIII. PROCELLARINÆ. FULMARS
Bill generally shorter than the head, moderately stout, compressed; upper mandible with the ridge formed of two generally united plates, at the anterior part of which, usually about half the length of the bill, are the nostrils; the sides separated by a groove, the tip a decurved, compressed, pointed unguis; lower mandible with the angle very long and narrow, the tip more or less decurved. Head of moderate size, ovate; neck of moderate length; body compact. Feet of ordinary length, rather slender; tibia bare below for a short space; tarsus little compressed, anteriorly scutellate; toes four, the first extremely small and elevated, with a conical deflected claw; anterior toes webbed; the third and fourth nearly equal. Claws arched, compressed, acute. Plumage full, soft, rather compact above. Wings long, rather broad, pointed, the first quill generally longest. Tail short, of from twelve to sixteen feathers. Œsophagus very wide, often enormously dilated, especially at its lower part, stomach small, moderately muscular; intestine of moderate length; cœca rather long; cloaca oblong or globular. Trachea simple, with a single pair of inferior laryngeal muscles.
GENUS I. LESTRIS, Illiger. JAGER
Bill shorter than the head, strong, slightly compressed, straight, with the tip curved; upper mandible with the dorsal line nearly straight, toward the tip decurved, the ridge broad and convex, formed by two plates, which overlap the nostrils, the sides narrow and convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip or unguis decurved, compressed, acute; nasal groove long, narrow; the nostrils in its fore part medial, lateral, longitudinal, broad before, extremely narrow behind, open and pervious; lower mandible with the angle long and narrow, a slight prominence at its extremity, beyond which the dorsal line is slightly concave, the sides erect, and slightly convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip obliquely truncate. Head rather large; neck of moderate length; body rather full. Feet of moderate length, rather stout; tibia bare at its lower part, and rough all round, with small convex scales; tarsus compressed behind and scabrous, anteriorly scutellate; hind toe extremely small and elevated; fore toes of moderate size, connected by convex webs, the third toe longest, the fourth little shorter. Claws strong, much curved, very acute, compressed. Plumage full, soft, blended, on the back rather compact. Wings very long, rather broad, pointed, the first quill longest. Tail of moderate length, or elongated, of twelve feathers, of which the middle are longest. Tongue broadly channelled above, contracted and induplicate toward the end, with the point slit; œsophagus very wide; stomach small, moderately muscular, with the epithelium thin, dense, and longitudinally rugous; intestine rather short and wide; cœca rather long; cloaca oblong.
454. 1. Lestris pomarinus, Temm. Pomarine Jager
Plate CCLIII. Adult Female.
Tail of moderate length, rounded, but with the two middle broad rounded feathers extending an inch beyond the next; bill dull green, toward the end dusky; tibia, toes, webs, and lower half of tarsus black, the upper half light blue; upper part and sides of head anteriorly brownish-black; upper part of neck all round yellowish-white; the rest of the neck white, barred with brownish-black, each feather having two transverse bands of that colour; breast white; sides, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts white, barred with brownish-black, as are the upper tail-coverts; back and wings brownish-black; primary quills of the same colour, white on the inner webs toward the base, as are the secondaries and tail-feathers; lower surface of wings mottled and barred with white and dusky.
Female, 201/4, 48.
From Massachusetts northward. Seen in Labrador. Breeds in high northern latitudes.
Lestris pomarina, Bonap. Syn. p. 364.
Lestris pomarina, Pomarine Jager, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 429.
Pomarine Jager, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 315.
Pomarine Jager, Lestris pomarinus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 396; v. v. p. 643.
455. 2. Lestris Richardsonii, Swains. Richardson's Jager
Plate CCLXXII. Male and Young.
Male with the bill greyish-black, tinged with blue above; feet black; tail-feathers of moderate length, except the middle two, which extend about three inches beyond the rest, and taper to a point; plumage sooty-brown; the upper part of the head, primary quills, and tail darker; cheeks and sides of neck dull yellow; fore part of neck and breast white. Female similar, but without white on the neck and breast, those parts being merely of a lighter brown. Young, when fledged, with the bill light blue, dusky at the end; tarsi and basal portion of the toes and webs light blue, the rest black; general colour of the plumage sooty-brown, lighter on the neck and lower parts, feathers of the back and wings all marginally tipped with whitish; breast, sides, lower wing-coverts, abdomen, and lower tail-coverts, undulatingly barred with pale greyish-yellow.
Male, 181/2, 40. Young, in September, 151/2; wing, 111/2.
Coast of Massachusetts and Maine, during winter. Breeds in the northern barren grounds, away from the coast.
Lestris Richardsonii, Richardson's Jager, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 433.
Richardson's Jager, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 319.
Richardson's Jager, Lestris Richardsonii, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 503.
456. 3. Lestris parasiticus, Linn. Arctic Jager
Plate CCLXVII.
Bill greyish-black, tinged with blue above; feet black, but with the greater part of the tarsus yellow; tail-feathers of moderate length, except the two middle, which are extremely elongated and attenuated, extending eight inches or more beyond the next, the rest broad and rounded; neck and lower parts white, the former tinged with yellow; upper and fore part of head, with the space before the cheeks, blackish-brown; lower part of hind neck, and all the upper parts, blackish-grey; primary quills and tail-feathers brownish-black, the shafts of the former white. Female similar to the male, but with the middle tail-feathers about three inches shorter.
Male, 23, 45.
Ranges, during winter, along and off the coast, though always in sight of land, as far as the Gulf of Mexico. Breeds in high latitudes.
Lestris Buffonii, Bonap. Syn. p. 364.
Lestris parasitica, Arctic Jager, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 430.
Arctic Jager, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 317.
Arctic Jager, Lestris parasiticus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 470.
GENUS II. DIOMEDEA, Linn. ALBATROSS
Bill rather longer than the head, nearly straight, stout, much compressed; upper mandible, with its dorsal line, much declinate, and nearly straight for a third of its length, then concave ascending to the unguis, on which it is arched and decurved in the third of a circle, the ridge broad, convex, rounded at the base, separated in its whole length by a groove, margined below, beyond the nostrils by a prominent line, from the sides, which are erect and slightly convex, the edges sharp, the unguis decurved, much compressed, with its sides flattened, and the tip acute; nostrils subbasal, prominent, tabular, having a horny sheath; lower mandible with the angle very narrow, reaching to the tip, and having at its extremity a long slender interposed horny process; the outline of the crura gently ascending, and quite straight, until near the end, when it is a little decurved, the sides ascending, nearly erect, a little convex, the edges sharp, the tip extremely compressed, its upper edges decurved. Head rather large, ovate; neck of moderate length; body full. Feet rather short, stoutish; tibia bare, below scaly; tarsus roundish, reticulated; toes three, long, slender, outer very little shorter than middle, scaly for half their length, then scutellate. Claws rather small, slender, slightly arched, somewhat obtuse. Plumage full, soft, blended, but rather fine, somewhat compact above. Wings very long, and very narrow, the humerus and cubitus extremely elongated; first quill longest. Tail of twelve broadly rounded feathers, short, rounded.
457. 1. Diomedea chlororhynchos, Gmel. Yellow-nosed Albatross
Not figured.
Bill much compressed, its ridge convex in its whole length, but with its basal outline, although semicircular, only half an inch in extent, so that between its margins and those of the sides of the bill, there is behind the nostrils a space nearly a quarter of an inch in breadth; the ridge in its whole length, the tip of the upper mandible, and the crura of the lower along their inferior edge, yellow, the rest black; feet yellow; head and neck ash-grey; the fore part of the back shaded into blackish-grey; wings entirely brownish-black, shafts of primaries white, toward the end brownish-black; hind part of back, rump, and upper tail-coverts white; tail deep grey, the bases and shafts of the feathers white, loral space of a darker grey than the rest of the head, that colour deepening at the fore part of the eye, forming a spot which includes the whole of the upper eyelid, and the anterior half the lower, of which the other half is white; lower half of the neck anteriorly, breast, sides, abdomen, lower tail-coverts, some of the axillaries, and the larger wing-coverts white; the others being brownish-black.
Length, 37; wing, 21; bill, 51/4; tail, 81/4.
Pacific Ocean, not far from Columbia River.
Diomedea chlororhynchos, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 326.
458. 3. Diomedea nigripes, Aud. Black-footed Albatross
Not figured.
Bill brownish-black, moderately compressed, its ridge very broad and convex at the base, its basal outline semicircular and two inches in extent, so that its sides behind overlap and obliterate the sutural space behind the nostrils; feet black; fore part of head, cheeks and throat light dusky-grey, the capistral feathers nearly white, as is a small patch at the posterior angle of the eye; upper part of head, hind neck, and all the upper parts, including the wings and tail, sooty-brown tinged with grey, as are the lower surface of the wings and the axillaries; lower parts dull grey, deeper on the fore parts and sides of the neck.
Length, 36; wings, 21; bill, 5; tail, 3.
Pacific Ocean, off California.
Black-footed Albatross, Diomedea nigripes, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 327.
459. 2. Diomedea fusca, Aud. Dusky Albatross
Plate CCCCVII. Adult.
Bill black, much compressed, its ridge carinate, with its basal outline running up on the forehead into a very acute angle, lower mandible with a groove on each side in its whole length, as far as the unguis; feet yellow; head and upper part of the neck greyish-black, tinged with brown, the rest of the neck, all the lower parts, the back and rump light brownish-grey, scapulars darker, wings brownish-black, primary quills and tail-feathers greyish-black with white shafts; eyelids narrowly margined with white feathers, their anterior part excepted.
Adult, length, 34; wing, 21; tail, 11; bill, 410/12.
Off the Columbia River.
Dusky Albatross, Diomedea fusca, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 116.
GENUS III. PROCELLARIA, Linn. FULMAR
Bill of about the length of the head, or somewhat shorter, robust, straight, moderately compressed, with the tip decurved; upper mandible with the nostrils dorsal, separated by a thin septum, covered by an elevated horny case, and opening directly forwards, the ridge nearly straight or concave in its outline, laterally sloping or convex, separated by a groove from the sides, which are erect and convex, the edges sharp, inflected, and in their outline slightly recurved from the base to the unguis, which is strong, decurved, and acute; lower mandible with the angle long, narrow, acute, the sides erect, with a groove in their whole length, the edges sharp and direct, the very short dorsal line ascending and slightly concave, the edges decurved at the end. Head rather large, ovate; neck rather short; body full. Feet of moderate length, stout; tibia bare for a short space below; tarsus a little compressed, reticulated with angular scales; hind toe a slight prominence with a conical claw; fore toes long, slender, scutellate, connected by striated even webs; fourth toe slightly shorter than third. Claws moderate, arched, compressed, rather acute. Plumage full, close, elastic, rather compact above. Wings very long, narrow, the first quill longest. Tail short, or of moderate length, of from twelve to sixteen feathers.
* Bill robust; tail of more than twelve feathers.
460. 1. Procellaria gigantea, Linn. Gigantic Fulmar
Not figured.
Bill longer than the head, nasal plate carinate, very slightly concave above, yellow, as are the feet; tail of sixteen feathers; general colour of plumage a deep brown tinged with grey, lighter on the lower parts, and especially on the lower surface of the wings.
Length, 36; tail, 71/2; bill, 4.
Off the Columbia River.
Gigantic Fulmar, Procellaria gigantea, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 330.
461. 2. Procellaria glacialis, Linn. Common Fulmar
Plate CCLXIV. Male.
Bill shorter than the head, moderately compressed, with the nasal plate flattened concave above; tail slightly rounded, of fourteen feathers; bill, feet, and claws yellow; head, neck, and lower parts, pure white; back and wings light greyish-blue, the rump paler, the tail bluish-white; primary quills and coverts blackish-brown. Young in first plumage greyish-brown.
Male, 8, 18.
Not uncommon off the coast, from New York to Nova Scotia. Abundant on the banks of Newfoundland. Breeds in high latitudes.
Procellaria glacialis, Bonap. Syn. p. 369.
Fulmar Petrel, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 330.
Fulmar Petrel, Procellaria glacialis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 446.