REPORT ON THE BIRDS — THE LARIDSE. loi 



X. — On the Laridce collected during the Expedition. By Howard Saunders, 



F.L.S., F.Z.S. 



(Reprinted from the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1878.) 



At the request of Mr Sclater, I have undertaken with much pleasure the determina- 

 tion of the Laridse collected during the expedition of H.M.S. Challenger, amounting 

 in all to 47 specimens. It was hardly to be expected that amongst these any previously 

 undescribed species would be found ; but in consequence of the careful manner in which 

 the specimens have been catalogued and labelled by Mr John Murray, many of them are 

 of great value in increasing our knowledge of the geographical distribution of the Oceanic 

 birds. It is highly desirable that more attention should be devoted to this subject, 

 instead of being limited, as is so often the case, to land-birds only ; and of the results 

 which would probably reward such attention we may judge from the present small collec- 

 tion, which contains examples of 9 species, represented by 31 specimens, of Terns (Ster- 

 nince), of 5 species, represented by 11 specimens, of Gulls (Larince), and of 3 species, 

 represented by 5 specimens, of Skua gulls (Stercorariince) ; total 17 species, 47 specimens. 

 Of these species, five have been obtained in absolutely new localities (three of them from 

 places where they could hardly be expected to occur), whilst many of the other species 

 derive unusual interest from the fact of their range being restricted to such seldom-visited 

 spots as the rocks and islands of the South Atlantic. On the whole this collection of 

 Laridse, although small in numbers, is one of the most productive of knowledge which 

 has yet been made by any of our national expeditions. 



1. Hydrochelidon hybrida, Pallas. 



Sterna hybrida, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As., vol. ii. p. 338, 1811. 



Hydrochelidon hybrida, Gray, Gen. B., voL iii. p. 660; Saunders, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1876 ; et 

 1S77, p. 794. 



[No. 364,?. Manila, 11th to 14th January 1875. Eyes black; feet dark red. 

 Stomach had Crustacea.] 



A nearly adult specimen, the head being slightly streaked with black. 



2. Sterna virgata, Cabanis. 



Sterna virgata, Cabanis, J. f. Orn., 1875, p. 449 ; Saunders, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1876, p. 646, et 

 1877, p. 794. 



[One specimen marked X on label. \ . TT . TT , 



„ . . . „ , . , ) Christmas Harbour, Kerenielen Island. 



One specimen marked t) on label. > 



