STERNA. 407 
the West Indies. It occurs in winter on both coasts of Mexico and Guatemala, and 
Nelson believes that the species may breed in very limited numbers on the Tres Marias 
Islands 1. We found it abundant in Guatemala, and Salvin procured specimens at 
Belize and on Glover’s Reef off the coast of British Honduras ”°. 
S. maxima is often to be seen fishing in flocks, and breeds in colonies, the nest 
being a mere depression in the sand. ‘The eggs are one or two in number, of a broad, 
pointed, oval form, the ground-colour varying from cream to pale buff. The surface- 
markings consist of spots and small blotches of deep chocolate- or blackish-brown, and 
these are almost invariably blurred or smudged at the margin. The underlying 
markings are of a pale purple colour, and are also blurred and ill-defined. ‘The 
markings of both kinds are equally, and not very thickly, distributed over the 
whole shell ?”. 
6. Sterna elegans. 
Sterna elegans, Gambel, Pr. Acad. Phil. 1848, p. 129’; Baird, Brewer, & Ridgway, Water-Birds 
N. Amer. ii. p. 2877; A. O. U. Check-l. N. Amer. Birds, 2nd ed. p. 23°; Saunders, Cat. 
Birds Brit. Mus. xxv. p. 84°; Nelson, N. Amer. Fauna, no. 14, p. 24°. 
Thalasseus elegans, Coues, Ibis, 1864, p. 389°; Salv. Ibis, 1866, p. 198’. 
Sterna galericulata (nec Licht.), Sel. & Saly. P. Z.S. 1871, p. 568°; Lawr. Mem. Bost. Soc. N. H. 
ii. p. 317°. 
Puil. estiv. precedenti similis, sed minor, rostro longiore et graciliore; notszo paullo saturatiore, cauda 
albidiore: rostro lete aurantiaco-rubro ; pedibus nigris. Long. tota circa 16:0, ale 12°2, caude 3:4, 
rectrice extima 5°8, culm. 2°65, tarsi 1°15. (Deser. maris adulti ex San Mateo. Mus. nostr.) 
Pil. hiem. ptilosi sstive similis, sed fronte alba distinguenda. Long. tota 15-5, ale 11°25. (Descr. maris 
hiem, ex Corpus Christi. Mus. nostr.) 
Jwv. ptilosi hiemali similis, sed rostro nigricante. 
Hab. Nortu America, Pacific coast of Southern California, once on Atlantic coast at 
Corpus Christi, Texas 4_Mexico, Guaymas, west of Sonora (Stone ?), Mazatlan 
(Gambel 1), Isabella 1. (Grayson 9), Gulf of Tehuantepec, San Mateo (Sunuchrast *); 
Satvapor, La Union (Dow**); Honpuras, Bay of Fonseca (Dow *). — Sovrtu 
America, western coast to Chile +. 
This species is smaller than S. maaima, but has a longer and more slender bill; the 
wing does not exceed thirteen inchesin length. The black colour of the lores, according 
to Mr. Howard Saunders‘, runs completely into the posterior portion of the nostrils, 
and the mantle is a shade darker than in 8. maxima, and the tail is rather more 
conspicuously white, otherwise the plumages of the two species are similar. 
S. elegans is an occasional visitant to the coast of California, and a specimen from 
Corpus Christi, Texas, obtained by Mr. F. B. Armstrong in July, is in our collection. 
It has been found nesting in Sonora, and occurs in winter along the western coast of 
Central America. Grayson noticed it on Isabella Island, off the coast of San Blas, 
and states that it was common at Mazatlan through the winter months, until the 
