Larus Canus: A Correction
Larus canus : a Correction
Shortly after my record of the capture of a young Mew Gull (L. canus) appeared in THE CONDOR (vol. VIII, p. 75) I received two gulls from North Carolina in immature plumage, one of which was evidently the Ring-billed (L. delawarensis) and the other intermediate between this and my Pacific Beach bird. This made me strongly suspect that both these were also L. delawarensis, and later I was able to compare these skins and other Ring-billed Gulls with a series of European specimens of L. canus in the collection of Dr. Jonathan Dwight, Jr., with the following result: L. canus has a more slender bill and shorter wing and tail than L. delawarensis; but the male L. canus is the same size as the female of L. delawarensis, tho the bill is slightly more slender. This slight difference in size is the only character separating the young of the two species in first winter plumage. My bird should therefore stand as L. delawarensis, and to this species, I suspect, most California records of L. canus belong.
