LARID,E THE GULLS AND TERNS. 243 



SUBGENUS ACTOCHELIDON KATJP. 



Actochelidon KAUP, Sk. Ent. Eur. Thierw. 1829, 31. Type, Sterna cantiaca GMEL.,= 

 S. sandvicensis GMEL. 



SUBGEN. CHAR. Next to Thalasseus the largest of the Terns. Tail more than half as 

 long as the wing, forked for at least half its length; feathers of occiput lengthened, pointed, 

 forming a distinct crest; depth of bill at base much less than one third the length of ex- 

 posed oulmen; inner webs of primaries bicolored (dusky or slaty next to shaft, white along 

 edge). 



Sterna maxima Bodd. 



ROYAL TERN. 



Popular synonyms. Gannet, or Gannet Striker, (Coast of Virginia); Redshanks (Florida*); 



Gaviota (Mexico). 



La Grande Hirondelle de Mer, de Cayenne BUFF. Ois. viii, 346. 

 Hirondel'e de Mer, de Cayenne, BUFF. PI. Enl. 988. 

 Sterna maxima BODD. Tabl. P. E. 1783, 58 (ex PI. Enl. 988). SCL. & SALT. P. Z. S. 1871, 



567 (critical). SAUNDEES, P. Z. S. 1878, 655 (do.). COUES, 2d Check List, 1882. No. 794. 



B. B. &R. Water B. N. Am. ii, 1884, 284. -A. O. U. Check List, 1886, No. 65. RIDGW. 



Man. N. Am. B. 1887, 40. 



Sterna cayennensis GMEL. S. N. i, pt. ii, 1788,604. 

 Sterna cay ana LATH. Ind. Orn. ii, 1790, 804, No. 2. NUTT. Man. ii, 1834, 268. AUD. Orn. 



Biog. iii, 1835, 505; v, 1839, 639. pi. 273; Synop. 1839, 316; B. Am. vii, 1844. 76, pi. 429. 

 Sterna galericulata LIGHT. Verz. Doubl. 1823, 81 (typj in Berlin Mus.; determined by 



H. S.). 



Sterna erythrorhynchus WIED, Beitr. iv, 1833,857. 



Sterna cristata SWAINS. B. W. Afr. ii, 1837, 247. pi. 30 (type in Cambridge Mus.; ex- 

 amined by H. S.). 

 Sterna regia GAME. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 18 IS, 228. LAWK, in Baird's B. N. Am. 



1858, 859. BAIED, Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, No. 683. COUES, Key, 1872, 319; Check List, 



1873, No. 562. RIDGW. Norn. N. Am. B. 1881, No. 681. 

 Thalasseus regius GAME. Journ. A -.ad. Nat. Sci. Phila. i,2d ser. 1849,228. COUES, Proe. 



Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1862, 539 (critical).. 

 Sterna (Thalasseus} regia COUES, B. N. W. 1874. 669. 



"Sterna bergii" IBBT, Orn. Str. Gibr. 1875, 209 (specimen examined by H. S.). Not S. 

 bergii, LIGHT. 1823. 



HAB. Tropical and warm-temperate parts of America, north to Long Island, Massa- 

 chusetts Great Lakes, Utah (?), Nevada (?), and co ist of California; South to Brazil and 

 Peru. West coast of Africa, north to Tangiers (DALGLEISH, "Auk," January, 1884, p. 97). 



SP. CHAR. Nearly as large as S. tschegrava. Bill deep orange-red or orange. Tail 

 quite deeply forked. Adult, in spring: Entire pileum, including occipital crest and upper 

 half of the lores, deep black. Upper parts pale pearl-gray (about as in S. tschegrava), be- 

 coming white on the rump and upper tail-coverts. Tail grayish white, tinged with pearl- 

 gray. Outer webs of primaries pale silvery gray, the outer quill darker; inner webs slaty 

 in a broad stripe next the shaft, the inner portion abruptly white, the dusky extending an- 

 teriorly near the inner edge of the web, except on the outer quill. Bill deep orange-red; 

 iris dark brown; legs and feet deep black. Adult, in summer: Similar, but the forehead, 

 lores, and fore part of crown white. Bill uniform deep orange-chrome, paler at tip; edges 

 of eyelids black; iris dark brown; legs and feet deep black. Adult, in winter: "Young of 



*JFide W. E. D. SCOTT, in The Auk, Oct., 1890, p. 306. (But why?) 



