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IVORY GULL

39. Pagophila alba. 17 inches

The little Snow Gull, as it is often called, in the breeding season is entirely white; the bill is tipped with yellow and there is a red ring about the eye.

Nest.– Of grasses and seaweed, on the cliffs in the Arctic regions. Three grayish buff eggs are laid marked with brown and black (2.30 × 1.70).

Range.– North of the Arctic Circle, and winters south to British Columbia.

PACIFIC KITTIWAKE

40a. Rissa tridactyla pollicaris. 16 inches

These birds breed in immense rookeries on some of the islands in the Bering Sea.

Nest.– On almost inaccessible cliffs, made of sticks, moss and seaweed, making the interior cup-shaped, to hold the two or three eggs, which are buffy brown or grayish, spotted with darker shades of brown (2.20 × 4.70).

Range.– Coast of the North Pacific, wintering as far south as Lower California.

RED-LEGGED KITTIWAKE

41. Rissa brevirostris. 16 inches

This Kittiwake is very much like the former, excepting that the legs are bright red, the mantle is darker and the bill shorter. They usually nest in separate colonies from the former, and can be readily identified when in flight by the red legs.

Nest.– They have been found abundantly on the islands of the Bering Sea, nesting on the higher ledges and cliffs. The color of the eggs is buffy or brownish, blotched and spotted with lilac and shades of brown.

Range.– Northwestern coast and islands of Bering Sea.

GLAUCOUS GULL

42. Larus hyperboreus. 28 inches

This is one of the largest of the Gulls; mantle light gray; it is distinguished by its size and the primaries, which are white to the tips. It is a powerful bird that preys upon the smaller Gulls, eating both the eggs and young.

Nest.– Of seaweed on ledge of sea cliff, eggs three in number, in shades of light drab to brown, spotted with brown and black.

Range.– Arctic regions, in winter south to San Francisco Bay.

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL

44. Larus glaucescens. 25 to 27 inches

The primaries are the same color as the mantle on this gull except that the primaries are tipped with white. They breed in large numbers both on the rocky cliffs and on the low sandy islands of the Aleutians. On the cliffs large nests of seaweed are built, while on the low sandy islands no attempt is made at nest building.

Nest.– Two or three eggs are the usual complement, of a greenish brown ground color with various shades of brown spots, most thickly covered on the larger end (2.75 × 2.05).

Range.– North Pacific coast, breeding from British Columbia northwards, and wintering to southern California.

SLATY-BACKED GULL

48. Larus schistisagus. 27 inches

This large gull, with its almost pure white head and neck and slaty colored back, is one of the prettiest. They often nest in colonies with other gulls, building their small mounds of seaweed on the higher parts of the islands.

Nest.– Usually contains sets of two or three grayish colored eggs, spotted with dark brown and lavender (2.90 × 2.00).

Range.– Northern Pacific and Arctic oceans.

WESTERN GULL

49. Larus occidentalis. 26 inches

This bird is the most southerly distributed of any of the large Gulls, and can be seen about the harbors of California at all seasons of the year. They are great thieves, robbing the Murres and Terns wherever eggs are left unprotected, and are the greatest enemy that the Murres have to contend with.

Nest.– Their nests are made up of weeds and grass, and the full set contains three eggs of grayish brown spotted with dark brown, showing the usual variation found in color in the Gulls’ eggs (2.75 × 1.90).

Range.– Pacific coast, breeding from southern California to British Columbia.

HERRING GULL

51. Larus argentatus. 24 inches

These Gulls nest in colonies in favorable localities, usually on the ground, sometimes making a bulky nest of seaweed quite a distance from the water. A few pair nest on the islands of some of the inland lakes and it is not uncommon to see nests built in low trees ten or fifteen feet from the ground.

Nest.– They lay three eggs of a grayish brown color spotted with black and brown.

RING-BILLED GULL

54. Larus delawarensis. 18 inches

A small Gull with light gray mantle, black primaries with white tips and always to be identified in the breeding season by the black band around the middle of the greenish yellow bill. They nest in large colonies on the islands in the interior of the country. They frequent lakes and ponds at high altitudes in Colorado. Thousands of them breed about the lakes of the Dakotas and northward.

Nest.– Commonly lay three eggs, placing them in a slight hollow on the ground generally on the grassy portion of some island (2.80 × 1.75).

Range.– North America. On the Pacific coast from Lower California to British Columbia.

CALIFORNIA GULL

53. Larus californicus. 23 inches

This is a slightly smaller Gull than the Cal. Herring Gull and the primaries are grayish instead of black. Bill yellow, with red spot near end of lower mandible; feet greenish yellow.

Nest.– Abundantly around Great Salt Lake, placing their nests generally upon the bare ground. Three or four eggs constitute a set, and they are the usual color of the Gulls’.

SHORT-BILLED GULL

55. Larus brachyrhynchus. 17 inches

The short-billed Gull or American Mew Gull is much like the European variety. Adults in breeding plumage; mantle pearly gray; rest of white; outer primary nearly black with a white spot at the end. Bill, feet and legs greenish.

Nest.– On islands in the lakes and rivers of Alaska. The nest is generally made of moss, grass and weeds and placed on the ground.

Range.– Breeds from the interior of British Columbia to Alaska. Winters in the south to Lower California.

HEERMANN GULL

57. Larus heermanni. 17 inches

A handsome little species, often called the White-headed Gull. In summer the entire head, neck and throat are white, with a red bill and legs. The body color shades abruptly from the neck into slaty, both the upper and under parts. The primaries and tail are black.

Nest.– Similar to others of the Gull family, with three eggs greenish drab in color marked with brown, black and lilac (2.45 × 1.50).

Range.– Pacific coast of North America.

BONAPARTE GULL

60. Larus philadelphia. 14 inches

In summer, tip and outer web of outer primaries black; inner web and shaft white, with a black bill. The head and neck are gray; while 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. They are rarely found in the U. S. with the black hood.

Nest.– They nest in great numbers in the marshes of the northwest. The nests of sticks and grass are placed on the higher parts of the marshes and the usual complement of three eggs is laid. The eggs are grayish to greenish brown, marked with dark brown spots (1.90 × 1.30).

SABINE GULL

62. Xema sabini. 13 inches

A handsome bird, having the slaty hood bordered behind with a black ring; the primaries black, white tipped, and the tail slightly forked. In winter the head and throat white with the back of the neck dusky.

Nest.– They breed abundantly on the marshes of northern Alaska and Greenland. The two or three eggs are greenish brown in color and marked with dark brown (1.75 × 1.25).

CASPIAN TERN

64. Sterna caspia. 21 inches

The largest and most beautiful of the Tern family. The bill is large, heavy and bright red. The crest with which this species is adorned is black. The mantle is pearl color and the breast is white. Winter birds have the crown mixed with white, and the young are blotched with blackish in the wings and tail.

Nest.– They sometimes nest in large colonies and then again only a few pair will be found on an island. Eggs vary from gray to greenish buff, marked with brown and lilac. The two eggs usually being laid in a hollow in the sand.

Range.– North America, breeding from the Gulf Coast and Lower California to the Arctic regions.

ELEGANT TERN

66. Sterna elegans. 17 inches

In the breeding plumage the under parts of the Terns are tinged with rosy, which probably first gave the birds their name.

Nest.– They lay but a single egg, in a slight depression in the sand, creamy brown with light brown markings (2.40 × 1.40).

Range.– Central and South America, in summer to California.

FORSTERS TERN

69. Sterna forsteri. 15 inches

These beautiful birds are often known as “Sea Swallows,” because of their similarity in flight to those well-known land birds. They are the picture of grace as they dart about high in the air, bill pointed downward, alert and ready to dart down upon any small fish that may take their fancy.

Nest.– A slight depression in the sand, rarely lined with grass, in which are laid three, sometimes four, eggs varying in color from almost white to brownish, thickly spotted with brown and lavender (1.80 × 1.30).

Range.– Throughout North America; breeding from Manitoba to the Gulf Coast.

COMMON TERN

70. Sterna hirundo. 15 inches

This bird differs from the above in the red of the bill being more blackish at the tip, and the under parts being a pearly gray in place of white, tail not quite as much forked, and shorter; edge of outer primaries and outer tail-feathers blackish.

Nest.– These breed much more abundantly on the Atlantic coast. Their eggs are more rounded (1.75 × 1.40).

ARCTIC TERN

71. Sterna paradisæ. 15 inches

A similar bird to the last; more northern in its distribution; and the pearly gray mantle somewhat darker both above and below. Bill quite red and feet much smaller and bright red. When their nesting colonies are approached they will rise in clouds, circling about high in the air, uttering at times their peculiar cry.

Nest.– Similar to the others, with very little if any attempt at nest building. Usually placing the two or three eggs on the bare sand or gravel just above the water line. There is no difference in the color or markings of the eggs from the others (1.75 × 1.40).

Range.– More northerly than the preceding, to the Arctic Regions and wintering from California to the Gulf States.

ALEUTIAN TERN

73. Sterna aleutica. 15 inches

This handsome Tern is of the same form and size as the Common Tern, but has a darker mantle, and the forehead is white, with a black line extending from the bill to the eye.

Nest.– Is much the same as the Arctic, but the eggs are somewhat smaller and narrower (1.70 × 1.15).

LEAST TERN

74. Sterna antillarum. 9 inches

This is the smallest of our Terns; not much larger than a swallow and in flight are much the same, darting through the air, taking insects the same as swallows, or dipping into the water for small minnows that are showing themselves near the surface.

Nest.– Simply a depression in the sand or gravel just above the water line, with two to four creamy white eggs beautifully marked with different shades of brown and lilac (1.25 × .95).

Range.– Throughout the United States to northern South America, breeding abundantly on the coast of southern California.

BLACK TERN

77. Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis. 10 inches

We always think of the Terns as light colored birds, either white or pearly; but here we have one nearly black. Adults in summer having the head, neck and under parts black, with the back, wings and tail gray.

Nest.– Their nesting habits vary also as much as their color. Nests are of weeds and grass in the sloughs on the prairies. Two to four eggs are a dark greenish brown with black spots (1.35 × .95).