324 LARII),«. 



generally' under shelter of a large rock or a heap of stones, or on ledges of low-shelving clifls 

 One or two fledglings were also seen, which were fairly well feathered though unable to fly, but 

 they managed to scramble away into crevices before we could secure them. Both eggs and 

 adults were preserved, and I tooU a photograph of an egg in silu." 



Mr. McCulloch, who visited Masthead Island, thirty miles east of Port Curtis, South-eastern 

 Queensland, during the last week in November, 1913, where he was again successful in obtaining 

 adult specimens and eggs, further remark's : — " S/ci'iia aiur'itlieta was very numerous, but as their 

 nests are scattered they appear to be less abundant than the Crested Tern (Stcyiia hei-^ii). They 

 nest principally among the grass behind the Casuarina belt, all around the island, but scattered 

 nests are found through the scrub, right into the centre of the island ; there is no real nest, 

 though the sand or grass may be pressed down by the weight of the bird's body. Only one egg 

 is laid by each bird, which at the time of my visit was more or less incubated. It is generally 

 placed beneath a tussock of grass or under a straggling bush, but several were seen in the scrub 

 which were simply laid among the roots of Pandaiins or Pisoiiia trees. The birds generally left 

 their eggs at our approach, but sometimes, especially when in thiclc grass, they would remain, 

 and could be easily caught with the hand. The exit from the nest was often very indistinct, 

 and the bird often got entangled in the vines and grass when frightened off. I thought the birds 

 in the scrub and those in the grass might perhaps be different species, but proved this was not 

 the case by shooting specimens of eacli and comparing them. 



" The note of this Tern is somewhat like the ' yap-yapping ' of a puppy, hence our name 

 ' Dog Tern ' for them." 



From Broken Hill, South-western New South Wales, Dr. \V. Macgillivray sent the following 

 notes: — " On my northern cruise during October, 1910,1 first met with Sterna aiuesthcta when 

 landing on No. 10 of the Ilowick Group of islands, and as it hovered o\erthe sea its appearance 

 rather puzzled me, the whole of the under surface being of a beautiful pale green, a perfect 

 reflection of the colouring of the sea over the coral reef on the white under surface of the 

 bird. Later, on the 21st, we found this bird nesting on Aye Sandbank, off Clareniont Point, 

 the birds rising in great numbers as we landed, and uttering their shrill cries of distress. The 

 nests were simply depressions scraped in the sand and well concealed under the tussocks of 

 grass, which grew plentifully on the island; most of the nests were in course of formation, and 

 only a few contained the one egg which it is usual for this species to lay. We also found these 

 birds nesting on No. 6 of the Clareniont Group of islands, the nests being very difhcult to find 

 under the coarse grass and strongly growing Iponua with which the island was covered. 



" I finally found this species nesting on Bush Island in Torres Strait, and here the single 

 egg was placed, in most cases, deeply under the shelving rocks, often at arms length ; this was 

 on the 3rd of November, and although there were a few fresh eggs, most of the nests contained 

 heavily incubated eggs or young birds. On the way up the coast this species was frequently 

 observed following up the shoals of little fish as they came to the surface, diving repeatedly 

 amongst them." 



From Cubborah Station, Cobbora, New South Wales, Mr. Thos. 1^. ;\ustin wrote: — "I 

 first saw the Panayan Tern (Sterna amrstheta) on the 9th November, 1907, on an island which is 

 nothing more than a small rocky peak bearing the name of Keid Island, situated between about 

 sixty miles east of Mackay, Queensland, and about fifteen miles west of the Great Barrier 

 Reef. Plere, on top of the island, were a great number of these birds, many of which were 

 nesting, mostly under a low scrub. From what I saw of them they appeared to have all laid 

 their single egg much about the same date, because in every instance there was an egg just on 

 the point of hatching, with the shell chipped or a young bird in the nest which had only been 

 out of the shell a few hours. On the following day, at Kedbill Island, on the Great Barrier 

 lieef, I visited a most interesting colony of these birds. Their nests were to be found all over 



