EGGS OF BEITISH BIRDS. 101 



hollows in the bare sand, in diameter and depth of the dimen- 

 sions of a cheese-plate, and they and their contents were diffi- 

 cult to distinguish from the sand and fine gravel. 



The eggs of the Sandwich Tern are remarkably handsome, 

 and are unrivalled in the boldness of the markings which they 

 occasionally display. The ground-colour varies from pure white 

 to brownish-buff. The commonest colour is creamy-white ; and 

 the rarest white with a slight tinge of olive. The colour of the 

 surface-spots is dark brown, frequently approaching black, whilst 

 the underlying markings, which are generally very conspicuous, 

 are pale slate-grey. The size, shape, and distribution of the spots 

 present almost endless variations. In some of the handsomest 

 eggs a fantastically-shaped spot covers a third of the visible 

 surface, and occasionally eggs are met with in which the spots 

 are delicate though short streaks. They vary in length from 2"3 

 to 1*9 inch, and in breadth from 15 to 1*3 inch. 



THE EOSEATE TERN. 

 (Sterna dougalli.) 



Plate 29, Figs. 7, 9. 



It is doubtful whether the Roseate Tern nests in any part of 

 the British Islands at the present time ; it was formerly found 

 breeding on several islands off the Scotch and Irish coasts, on 

 Foulney and Walney Islands off the coast of Lancashire, on the 

 Fame Islands, and on the Scilly Islands. 



The Roseate Tern may be regarded as an inhabitant of the 

 Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, being found even in Australia 

 and the Chinese Seas. It is also an inhabitant of the shores of 

 Eastern North America, as far south as the West Indies. Like 

 its congeners, it makes no nest, but lays its eggs in a slight 

 depression in the sand, sometimes placing a few roots or bits of 

 dead grass round them. 



The eggs of the Roseate Tern are two or three in number, and 

 are similar in colour to those of the Common Tern. They vary 

 in length from 175 to 155 inch, and in breadth from 125 to 11 

 inch. It is impossible to give any characters b}^ which the ego-s 

 of this species can be distinguished from those of the Common 

 and Arctic Terns. 



