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Show 1871.] ON NEOTROPICAL LARIDiE. 575 We have not had an opportunity of comparing L. heermanni with L. crassirostris oi the seas of Japan and China; but, judging by what Prof. Schlegel says (Mus. des P.-B. Lari, p. 8), it must be distinct. In L. heermanni adult the bill is bright red crossed by a blackish band towards the tip, and the feet are nearly black. Prof. Schlegel describes the bill of __. crassirostris as yellow, and its feet as yellow or greenish. 4. LARUS BELCHERI. Larus belcheri, Vig. Zool. Journ. iv. p. 358 (1829); Zool. Beechey's Voy. p. 39 ; Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S. 1867, p. 991; Schleg. Mus. des P.-B. Lari, p. 9. Larus frobeeni, Ph. et Land. Wiegm. Arch. 1861, p. 292; Cat. Av. Chil. p. 48. Leucophceus belcheri, Bp. Consp. ii. p. 232. Hab. Coast of Peru, Islay (Whitely); Arica (Frobeen) ; Straits of Magellan (Ph. et Landb.). Fig. 4. Head of Larus helcheri (reduced one-third). This Gull is quite distinct from the three preceding species, with all of which it has been confounded, as we have already pointed out above. Messrs. Philippi and Landbeck have lately given an excellent description of it under the name Larus frobeeni. The British Museum contains a fine adult specimen of this Gull, obtained by Mr. Whitely at Islay; and Salvin and Godman have an immature bird with a blackish cap, from the same collector and locality. This bird cannot, in our opinion, be associated with L. scoresbii in the genus Leucophceus, not having the short and curiously wrinkled bill of that species. It stands, however, somewhat alone, having the base of the bill more bare than in typical Larus (in which the small frontal plumes project forward on each side of the culmen nearly up to the nostrils), and will probably ultimately rank as a distinct generic form. |