BREWSTER : BIRDS OF THE CAPE REGION, LOWER CALIFORNIA. 25 



Sterna forsteri Ndtt. 



Forster's Tern. 



Sterna forsteri Beldin'G, Proc U. S. Nat. Mus., V. 1883, 546 (Cape Region). 

 Bryant, Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., 2d ser., II. 1889, 252 (Cape Region). 



This Tern is mentioned without comment in ^[r. Belding'slist of birds found 

 in the Cape Region between December 15, 1881, and May 17, 1882. Mr. Frazar 

 met with it only at San Jose del Cabo where he shot three specimens, one on 

 September 29, the other two on the following day. Six in all were seen on 

 these dates, and none either before or afterwards. 



All three of the specimens secured are in winter plumage. One is perhaps 

 an old bird. The other two have some of the feathers of the mantle tipped 

 with faded brown and are probably young. In one of the latter the outer 

 ■webs of the outer pair of tail feathers are uniform dark slaty for a terminal 

 space of more than an inch in length, but the extreme tips of these feathers are 

 white in both webs. 



Accordin:; to Mr. Brvant, Forster's Tern has been observed on the northwest 

 coast of the Peninsula by Mr. Anthony. It occurs in various parts of Cali- 

 fornia, and Dr. Heermann has found it breeding in the valley of the Sacramento 

 River. On the whole, however, it appears to be much less numerous near the 

 Pacific coast than in the interior of North America. It migrates as far south 

 " as Guatemala, on both the Pacific and Atlantic side, and even to the latitude 

 of Pernambuco, Brazil." i 



Sterna hirundo Linn. 

 Common Tern. Wilson's Tern. 



Mr. Frazar is apparently entitled to the credit of first detecting the Common 

 Tern in Lower California. He observed it only at San Jose del Cabo, where 

 six specimens, all young birds, were taken along the beach at various dates be- 

 tween the 5th and 30th of September. This species, although one of the most 

 cosmopolitan of its tribe, " is not common — if indeed it breeds at all — on the 

 Pacific coast ; but throughout California — according to Dr. Heermann — it is 

 very abundant along the rivers in the interior during the summer, retiring 

 southward in the winter. Dr. Cooper never met with it on the sea-coast of 

 California, . . . nor did he see it on the Columbia River." =^ 



The accuracy of the statement attributed to Dr. Heermann in the passage 

 above quoted is open to grave suspicion, for none of the field observers who 

 have been so numerous and active in California during the past decade have 

 found Wilson's Tern abundant or even common. Indeed, it appears to be 

 doubtful if there are any really authentic records of its occurrence, especially 

 in the interior of the state. 



1 Saunders, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lend., 1876, 651. 



2 Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, Water Birds N. Amer., II. 1884, 297. 



