Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America

The book that made American bird-watching possible in the field: keys, plumages, songs and habits for every species of the East, by the man who ran ornithology at the American Museum.

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Ring Gull

Ad. in summer. -Back and wings deep pearl-gray; first primary tipped with white, then crossed by a small black mark, then a much larger white one; this is followed by a black space; the black runs down the outer web of the feather to near its base and the shaft part of the inner web nearly as far, leaving the inner two thirds of the web below the black mark white (Fig. 60, a); the second primary is similar, but the second white mark is a round spot on the inner web and the black occupies a greater space near the tip, but does not continue so far down on the feather; the third to sixth primaries are tipped with white, which is succeeded by a gradually diminishing black band which extends farther down on the outer web of the feather than on the inner; the rest of the plumage is pure white. Ad. in winter.- Similar to the above, but with the head and neck streaked or spotted with rayish. Im.-Upper parts ashy fuscous; head and nape more or less streaked with pale buffy; back and wings margined or irregularly marked with the same color; primaries brownish black; tail the same, sometimes tipped or margined with buffy; under parts ashy fuscous, sometimes lightly barred or streaked. L., 24.00; W., 17.50; T., 7.50; B., 2.30.

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