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.