280 LONG-WINGED SWIMMERS — LONGIPENNES. 



northern coast of Germany. A few birds of this species have been taken on the coast 

 of France ; and it is mentioned as being common in Hungary, Turkey, and also in 

 Greece and Asia Minor, breeding abundantly in the lagoons of IVIissolonghi, and near 

 Smyrna. It breeds in various other portions of Southern Europe, as well as in North 

 Africa, where Canon Tristram met Avith it in the Sahara ; other writers also mention 

 it as being abundant in Egypt. 



This species occurs throughout Asia, from the eastern coast of the ]\[editerranean 

 to the China Seas. It is abundant all over India, where it feeds on aquatic food in 

 the marshes, and occasionally hunts for grasshopi)ers in cultivated fields. It is com- 

 mon in Ceylon and in China, and has been seen throughout the JVIalay Archipelago, 

 as far south as Australia ; in that country, however, it is very rare. It is also quite 

 common on the shores of the Red Sea, breeding along the coast of India, and in other 

 portions of Southern Asia. Mr. Blyth obtained examples of this species near Calcutta, 

 and it is said to be abundant about the Island of Sunda. The Tern taken by Hors- 

 field on the Island of Java, and described by him under the name of Sterna affinis, is 

 now recognized as being identical Avith this species. I am indebted to Mr. Howard 

 Saunders for an example of its egg taken by Captain Butler from the Island of 

 Warraba, in the Persian Gulf. It is not distinguishable from eggs of this species 

 taken on the coast of Virginia, and the examples of this bird shot by Prince Neuwied 

 on the coast of Brazil, and sent by him to Temminck, are described by the latter as 

 being identical with those taken on the lakes of Hungary. 



The ground-color of the eggs of the Marsh Tern varies from a pale greenish buff 

 to a light olive-drab. They are of a rounded oval shape, less oblong than the eggs of 

 most Terns, and more gull-like both in shape and general appearance. Three eggs 

 . from Hogg Island, Va., measure 1.85 by 1.30 inches ; 1.90 by 1.35 ; and 1.95 by 

 1.35. Mr. Seebohm describes an egg taken by him in Greece as measuring 2.3G inches 

 in length, and others as ranging from that to 1.70 inches. He describes their ground- 

 color as yellow ochre or stone-color, varying from a grayish white to a brownish citron. 

 The spots are a mixture of greenish brown and reddish brown. The underlying 

 spots are of a lighter color, but are quite distinct. The egg from the Island of 

 Warraba measures 1.92 by 1.36 inches, has a ground-color of a yellowish drab, and is 

 boldly but sparingly spotted with rounded splashes of deep purplish brown, the under- 

 lying spots being similar, but of a lighter shade. Mingled with these are a few 

 smaller blotches of yellowish brown. 



An egg taken by Mr. Sennett, near Port Brown, measures 1.88 l)y 1.31 inches, and 

 may be described in the same words as the egg from the Gulf of Arabia, except that 

 the blotches are of a smaller size. 



Sterna caspia. 



THE CASPIAN TERN. 



Old World references. 



Sterna caspia. Pall. Nov. Comm. Petrop. XIV. 1770, 582. — Gmel. S. N. I. ii. 1788, COS. 



Sterna caspica, Sparkm. Mus. Carls. III. 1788, pi. 62. 



Thalasscus cnsinus, BoiE, Isis, 1822, 563. 



Sterna Tscheyrava, Lepech. Nov. Comm. Petrop. XIV. 1770, 500, pi. 13, fig. 2. 



Sterna mcgnrhynchns, Meyer, Ta.sch. Deutsch. Viig. II. 1810, 457. 



Sylochelidon strcnnuu.% Gould, P. Z. S. 1846, 21; B. Aiistr. VIl. 18J8, pi. 22 (Australia). 



Thalassites melanotis, Sw. B. W. Af'r. 1837, 253 (type in Caiiibriilge Mus.; examined by H. S.). 



Sijlochelidon halthica et SchiUimiii, Bri;um, V. D. 1831, 709, 770. 



Sterna- major, El.l.MAN, Zool. 1861, 7472. 



