8 lO NESTS AND EGGS OF AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 



645. — Sterna frontalis. Gray. — (6U4) 

 S. ini'luntirliiinrliu, Gould. 



WHITE-FRONTED TERN. 



Pij^ure. — Gould : Birds of Australia, fol., vol. vii., pi. 26. 



Reference. — Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. xx.v., p. 97. 



Previous Descriptions of Eggs. — Potts : Trans. New Zealand Inst.. 



vol. li., p. 76 (1870); BuUer : Birds of New Zealand {1873); 



also vol. ii , p. 69 (188S) ; North : .Vustn. Mus. Cat., app. (1890). 



GeiKjnipliinil JJIsiriliittioii . — Seas of Australia, in general aiid Tas- 

 mania ; also New Zealand. 



Xest. — A slight depression on the ground amongst tussock-grass, 

 pig-face weed, or other shorti herbage, near the shore. Nests in colonies. 



Eggs. — Clutch, two usually, tlu'ee occasionally ; oval inclined in 

 form; texture of shell ccmpaiatively fine; siiiface, faint trace oi 

 gloss ; colour, stony-grey, strongly blotched and spotted with rich 

 umber and dull-grey. Dimensions in inches of a pair: (1) 1-84 x 1-3, 

 (2) 1-78 X 1-3. 



Observations. — The Wliite-fronted Tern is a more local form, being 

 confined chiefly to the coast lines of Australia, Tasmania, and New 

 Zealand. Gould shot his examples of this bird a few miles from Maria 

 Island, off the Tasmanian coast, but I liave not given his reference for 

 the description of eggs collected by Macgillivray on St. Paul's Island, 

 in the South Indian Ocean, 18.53. Tliey were most probably those of 

 S. viffafa (Gm.), which equals <S'. sancfi-jinuli, Gould's type, which 

 Macgillivray procured on that island. As stated, the true S. frontalis 

 belongs strictly to the Australian region. 



I recollect one winter's day seeing a fine flock of these Terns fishing 

 for whitebait close to the head of the Town Pier, Port Melbourne. 

 The graceful actions of the birds diving into the water and captiuing 

 tiny fish were very entertaining. Sometimes they come quite close 

 to the pier, poise in the air for a second, then dive headlong into the 

 water, rising with a tiny silver-sided fish held in black bill. Tliese 

 clever little divers never appear to miss their aim. Their bodies, with 

 semi-closed wings, resemble an aiTow's head as they enter the water. 

 Occasionally a bird on the wing gives its whole bodv a nervous quiver, 

 aa if throwing off the salt sea-spray after a dive. 



During the expedition of the Field Naturalists' Club to Furneaux 

 Group, 1893, we were delighted on landing on a rock between Woody 

 and Little "Woodv I.slands, in the Franklin Sound, to see a small colony 

 of Southern or White-fronted Terns, distinguished by their black hills, 

 hovering over or near. Although it was 18th November, they had not 

 laid, but would shortly do so, judging by the little depres.sions or pre- 

 jjarations of nesting-places in tciTaces prettily situated amongst the 

 short matted pig-face weed and other flowering herbage close to the 

 shore. 



