ine except that the
central tail feathers are pointed and are straight instead of twisted.
It is an abundant bird in Alaska, breeding from the Aleutian Chain
northward.

They locate their nests in the highest parts of marshy places, the nest
itself being only a depression in the ground lined with grass and moss.
The two eggs have an olive greenish or brownish ground and are marked
with various shades of brown and black. Size 2.15 x 1.65.

38. LONG-TAILED JAEGER. _Stercorarius longicaudus._

Range.--Arctic America; south in winter to South America.

The long-tailed Jaeger is, according to length, the largest of the
Jaegers, being 21 in. long; this is, however, due to the long sharp
pointed central pair of tail feathers, which extend about eight inches
beyond the others, and from the most noticeable distinguishing point
from the former species. The plumages that have been described are the
light phases; all the Jaegers have a dark phase in which the plumage is a
nearly uniform sooty brown, lightest below.

The Long-tailed Jaegers are the most numerous in Alaska and are even more
graceful in flight than are the Gulls and Terns, floating, skimming,
sailing, plunging, and darting about with incredible swiftness and ease.
Like the others of this family, they pilfer their food from the Gulls,
and are also very destructive to young birds and eggs. Their eggs are
either laid on the bare ground or in a slight depression, scantily lined
with grasses. The eggs are indistinguishable from those of the preceding
species except that they average a trifle smaller. Size 2.10 x 1.50.

[Illustration 039: Brownish.]
[Illustration: Parastic Jaeger. Long-tailed Jaeger.]
[Illustration: Olive brown.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]

Page 38

GULLS and TERNS. Family LARIDAE

Gulls are webbed footed birds having a slight hook to the end of the
upper mandible. Their plumage is generally a silvery gray above and
white below. They nest in large colonies, some on the islands of fresh
water inland, but mostly on the sea coast. They procure their food from
the surface of the water, it consisting mostly of dead fish and refuse
matter, and crustacea which they gather from the waters edge. When tired
they rest upon the surface of the water, where they ride the largest
waves in perfect safety.

Terns are birds of similar plumage to the Gulls, but their forms are
less robust and the bills are generally longer and sharply pointed.
Their fo