History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

Larus. BIRDS. PALMIPIDES. 189size. Those which have white heads in summer, havethose parts slightlystreaked with dusky in winter. Thosewhich have black heads in summer have white heads inwinter. The Youngare two or three yearsin reachingmaturity1. Larger gulls ; exceeding 20 inches in length.* Quills white.223. L. glaucus. Burgomaster.— Length 30, breadth 63,of the tarsus 2^'gthinches.Fab. Faun. Groen. 100 Sabine, Linn. Trans, xii. 543—New species ofLarus, Edmonston, Wern. Mem. iv. 176. Scor. Arct. i.Reg. 535—Temm. Orn. ii. 757 A winter visitant.Bill 3 inches long, horn coloured, the symphysis of the lower mandiblebright reddish orange.Irides and orbits yellow. Legs livid flesh-coloured.Plumage white ;the back, scapulars, and wing-covers ash-grey. In winter,the neck is mottled with brown. Female less—Nest among grass on the shore.Eggs 3, pale, with brown spots. Young, mottled, uniformly light brown andwhite ; the whole bill lead-coloured. This species is rapacious, yet shy. Itwas first ascertained as a winter visitant of Zetland, by Laurence Edmonston,Esq. surgeon, Unst, in 1814—It has since been detected on various parts ofthe coast, but it retires to the Arctic Regions during the breeding season.224. L. islandicus. Iceland Gull.— Length 24, breadth 53,tarsus 2 \ inches.L. argentatus, an arctic var., Sabine, Linn. Trans, xii. 546.— Temm. Orn.ii. 764. L. Isl. Edmonston, Wern. Mem. iv. 506—A winter visitantof Zetland.Bill about 2^ inches long; rather slender. Plumage similar to the preceding.The wings, however, in this species, reach a little beyond the tail ;while, in the glaucus, they only reach to the end of it. The young are distinguishedfrom those of the preceding, by their dimensions, size of the bill, andpaler plumage. Captain Sabine and M. Temminck agree in considering this speciesas the L. argentatus, deprived of the black markings on the quill-feathers,by its residence in an arctic climate. The absence of any direct proof, oreven analogy, induced me, six years ago,to reject this conclusion as unwarrantable(Edin. Phil. Journ. vol. ii.274) nor have subsequent ; proofs, of anyvalue, been brought forward. Captain Sabine, it is true, states a fact (App.Parry's first voy., cciv.) which he considers as confirming Mr Temminck'sdecision ;though, in reality, it only proves the occurrence of the Herring-Gull on the same cliff with the Islandicus :— " Amongst a number of theGreenland variety, which had their nests on a cliff on one of the GeorgianIslands, one individual was observed to have black markings on the wings,and was fortunately secured. On comparing this specimen with birds whichhave been killed on our own coasts, the black markmgs of the quill-feathersare found to correspond precisely in shape and situation ; the only perceptibledifference being, that the dark colour is not quite so deep in shade in the Polaras in the European varieties." Mr Edmonston first recognized this speciesas a winter visitant of Unst, the most northerly of the Zetland Isles. Itis there confounded, by the natives, with the Burgomaster, under the nameof Iceland Gull, or Iceland Scorie, though Mr Edmonston notices its greate relegance and delicacy of form and its livelier and more active habits.