Cassell's book of birds; vol. 4Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Science
Cassell's book of birds; vol. 4
Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Birds
wounded--in short, do everything in their power to tempt their enemy from
the locality. The early life of the young birds differs in no important
particular from that of their congeners already described.
ROSS'S ROSY GULL.
Ross's ROSY GULL (_Rhodostethia rosea_ or _Rossii_), the most beautiful
Gull with which we are acquainted, is a resident in America, where it
inhabits the far north. Upon some occasions, however, it has been known to
visit Europe, and consequently deserves notice, although we are ignorant
of any important particulars in which it differs from others of its race.
This species is distinguishable by its wedge-shaped tail, the two middle
feathers of which project nearly an inch beyond the rest; from this
circumstance it is regarded as the representative of a distinct section of
the family. Its beak is feeble, and the angular enlargement of the front
of the under jaw, so characteristic of the Gulls, scarcely perceptible.
The tarsus is moderately strong, and the four-toed foot of a medium
length. The coloration of the feathers is more delicate and beautiful than
that of any other of the race; the mantle is pearly or silvery grey; the
under neck, breast, and belly are pale rose-red; the middle of the neck
is adorned with a narrow black band, somewhat resembling a necklace of
jet. The exterior web of the first quill is black, that of all the others
white. The eyelids and throat are reddish yellow, the beak black, the foot
scarlet. The length of this bird is fourteen inches; the length of the
wing ten inches and a half; and of the tail five inches and a half. The
Rosy Gull is included among British birds, a specimen having been killed
upon a ploughed field in Yorkshire in 1847. Yarrell tells us that its
flight resembles that of its congeners, and that it did not appear at all
shy.
* * * * *
The PETRELS, or STORM-BIRDS (_Procellaridæ_), are distinguishable among
all other sea-birds, and, indeed, among all birds whatever, by the
circumstance that their nostrils are represented by horny tubes, situated
upon the upper beak.
* * * * *
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