ROSEATE TERN. 279 



often sweeping along or resting in the air, almost immovea- 

 ble, like the soaring of a hawk ; and they were also distin- 

 guishable by the comparative inferiority of their size. 



M. de Lamotte has had the satisfaction to find two pairs 

 of these birds nesting on the coasts of Picardy in company, 

 and associated in the same places with the S. liirundo. 

 In the United States they are also sparingly seen Avith 

 the common species, as I have obtained an individual on 

 the coast at Chelsea Beach, in this vicinity, and they may 

 probably sometimes breed on the neighboring isle of the 

 Egg Rock, or in similar places in the temperate parts of 

 the Union. It is not mentioned by Richardson as an 

 inhabitant of the northern parts of the continent, where 

 however, the Common and Arctic Terns abound. Defying 

 almost all exact geographic limits, we find, according to the 

 observations of Mr. Audubon, that they even abound on the 

 shores of the Tortugas, at the extremity of East Florida, 

 where he likewise saw their nests and ecras. 



&» 



The length of the Roseate Tern is about 15^ inches. Bill black, 

 long and slender, orange at the base, length about 1^ inches. Feet 

 and legs orange, nails black. Summer plumage of the adults ; with 

 the summit of the head and nape of a deep glossy bluish-black, much 

 more intense than in S. hirundo. Back, scapulars and wings of a pale 

 ash color. Sides of the neck, all the lower parts and tail, of a pure 

 white ; the breast with a faint rosaceous tint. Lateral tail feathers 

 long and ^.ubulate, extending 2 inches or more beyond the closed 

 wings. Outer barb of the 1st quill black; the others ash, bordered 

 on their inner webs with a white band. 



Note. Mr. Audubon, by letter, has also favored me with the fol- 

 lowing notice of what he considers to be a new species of Tern, 

 " Sterna JVuttalii was procured there also (the Tortugas.) It is inter- 

 mediate in size with the Sandwich Tern and the Roseate species ; 

 but its wings are, in proportion, much longer, and the tail shorter 

 than either. The bill is pure black, and almost as large as that of 

 Sterna anorlica." 



