1892.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 101 



individuals among old forms, but equally to the additional species 

 now ascribed to the Corpus Christi fauna. 



The subjoined list includes all birds observed by me; those spe- 

 cies of which I did not obtain specimens being indicated by an 

 asterisk. I wish here to acknowledge my grateful indebtedness to 

 Mr. Witmer Stone, Conservator of the Ornithological Section of the 

 Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, not only for receiving 

 and caring for the collection during my absence, but also for inval- 

 uable aid in the identification of the material and in revising my 

 notes. 



Texas. 



1. Larus atricilla Linn. Laughing Gull. 



Common, breeding abundantly about Corpus Christi Bay. Nearly 

 a third of those observed still retained the young, autumnal plumage 

 of last year. 



2. Larus franklinii Sw. & Rich. Franklin's Gull. 



Five or six individuals of this exquisite gull were noted and one 

 male was taken on the first of June. The female which accom- 

 panied it escaped me. The presence of this species at so late a date 

 seems to corroborate Mr. Prion r's assertion that a few remain to 

 breed. The fly-catching habits of Franklin's Gull are noteworthy. 

 I have seen a pair rise from a sand-bar, and proceeding directly 

 to the mainland, begin to beat the chaparral in a most systematic 

 manner for hours at a stretch, keeping meanwhile just out of 

 gunshot, and leisurely gathering, in company with Henry's Night- 

 hawk, the superabundant insect food which came in their way. 



3. Gelochelidon nilotica (Hasselq.). Gull-billed Tern. 



Breeding on the marshes but not common. 



••■4. Sterna tschegrava Lepech. Caspian Tern. 



Common, but not found breeding in Nueces Bay. 



5. Sterna forsteri Nutt. Forster's Tern. 



Most abundant of the genus, and like its northern congeners, the 

 first to proclaim and resent the presence of an intruder on its breed- 

 ing grounds. 



6. Sterna antillarum (Less.). Least Tern. 



It is surprising that no one has recorded the Least Tern in 

 Texas.^ Priour assured me that before the destruction carried on a 



1 Merrill and SenneU found it breeding on sand-bars in the Rio Grande. 



