3o6 THE NESTS AND EGGS OF 



Family LARID/E. Genus Hydrochelidon. 



Sub-family STERNIN^. 



WHISKERED TERN. 



Hydrochelidon hybrida {Fallas). 



(British : Very rare abnormal spring and autumn migrant.) 



Single Brooded. Laying season, May to July, according to 

 locality. 



Breeding area : Tropical and sub-tropical regions 

 of the Eastern Hemisphere. The Whiskered Tern breeds 

 in Spain, very sparingly in the south of France (Rhone 

 delta), in the valley of the Danube (and it is said 

 sparingly at Lublin in Poland), in Southern Russia, 

 Turkey, Greece, Asia Minor, Palestine, Armenia, 

 Turkestan, Cashmere, Northern Lidia, and Mongolia. 

 It also breeds in North-eastern Australia, and may 

 probably do so in the Philippines and the Malay 

 Archipelago. South of the Mediterranean it breeds in 

 Northern Africa from Morocco to Egypt, and may 

 possibly do so in the Transvaal and elsewhere in the 

 southern half of the African continent. 



Breeding habits : The Whiskered Tern visits its 

 European breeding places late in April, but does not 

 breed in India until June or July. It is gregarious, and 

 breeds in colonies like its allies, probably pairing for life, 

 as it returns yearly to certain haunts. The favourite 

 breeding grounds of this Tern arc marshes, especially 

 those situated in or near deltas, or near lakes and large 

 rivers. The nest is a somewhat bulky structure, composed 

 of rushes, sedges, and dry grass, the latter forming the 

 lining. In Algeria, Canon Tristram observed this species 

 breeding in the old nests of the Eared Grebe. Some- 

 times the nest is floating — as observed by Anderson in 



