No. 124, ? . | Raine Island, Barrier 

 No. 125, $ . J Beef, Australia, 



136 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 



Adult, with the black head and crest, and the white frontlet band characteristic of the 

 breeding-plumage. 



6." Sterna fuliginosa, Gin. 



Sterna fuliginosa, Gm., Syst. Nat., vol. i. p. 605, 1788; Saunders, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1876, p. 

 666, et 1877, p. 696. 



[One specimen ? . Boatswain-bird Island, Ascension Island, about April 4, 1873. 



' Eyes, bill, and feet black. Stomach of first 

 contained a cuttlefish and a piece of coral ; 

 that of second, nothing. In great numbers. 

 Eggs rounded and more spotted than those of 

 the Noddy.] 



Fifteen eggs of this species from Raine Island form a very fine series. 

 These three specimens are in adult breeding plumage, the long outer tail- streamers 

 being, however, somewhat abraded. 



7. Gygis Candida, Gm. 



Sterna Candida, Gm., Syst. Nat., vol. i., 2, p. 607, 1788. 



Gygis Candida, Wagler, Isis, 1832, p. 1223; Proc. Zool. Soc, 1876, p. 667, et 1877, p. 797. 



[Two specimens, $ and $ . Boatswain-bird Island, Ascension Island, about April 

 3, 1876. 



No. 546, ? ) Tahiti, September 18 to October 2, 1875. Shot by Balfour on trees near 



No. 547, <? i Papuerini ? Eyes black.] 



These are two specimens in spirits. 



All these examples have bills broad at the base, although from the mandibular angle 

 to the tip there is some slight variation, those of the Tahitian birds being more pointed, 

 whilst in those from the volcanic crags of Boatswain-bird Island the bill is evidently 

 worn down and blunted. In the coloration of the webs of the feet, also, the Tahitian 

 birds are of a brighter lemon-colour ; but the extent of this colour is the same in all, 

 viz., down to and a little below the last joint of the middle toe. The shafts of the tail- 

 feathers and of the primaries seem liable to become white with the age of the feather 

 itself, owing to abrasion of the surface ; but in no case are the characteristics want- 

 ing which distinguish this species from Gygis microrhyncha, only known at present 

 from the Marquesas Islands, where the present species is also found. The fact of its 

 being obtained near Ascension Island is an interesting addition to our knowledge 

 of its range, as it has not yet been recorded on that side, so far as I am aware, beyond 

 St Helena. 



