334 LAHID.H. 



marking commencing be.liiiid the nostril and rp.achiiuj to the atilerior portion of the eye ; bill gamboge- 

 yelloit', the tip black; legs and feet orange-yellow : iris dark broicn. Total length in the jlcsh IQ'75 

 inches, 7ving I'-.J, central tail-feathers J'™, outer tail-feathers 4''''i bill 1- '/, tarsiis O-IIS. 



Adult fkmai.k, in breeding plumage. — Siinilar lu tlir male, 



Distribntion. — Northern Territory, (Queensland, New South Wales. 



,^?C LTHOUGH slightly exceeding in size the Little Tern, the present species more closely 

 X A_ represents the Steyita miiiiita of Europe, Western Asia and Africa. In .Australia Stcvna 

 sinensis inhabits the coasts and contiguous islands of the Northern Territory, Queensland and 

 New South Wales. 



In New South Wales it occurs chiefly during the breeding season, in many places through- 

 out the length of the entire coast. I met with it at the Tweed Ri\er Heads in December, 1907, 

 where it has been found breeding on several occasions; it also occurs near Ballina, at the 

 entrance of the Richmond River, and from where most of the specimens in the Australian 

 Museum were procured. Mr. R. Grant informs me that young birds were obtained on 

 Broughton Island in January, igii, and that this species was numerous on a small low island 

 just inside Port Stephens. I have never heard of it being found breeding near the metropolis, 

 although specimens are occasionally obtained on the sandy llats at the entrance of Narrabeen 

 Lagoon, also at Cronulla IJeach and Port Hacking. Further south, Mr. Chas. G. Hamilton 

 found it breeding at the mouth of Lake Illawarra, below Wollongong. I noted it at Gerringong, 

 and also near the entrance to Twofold Bay. It would be interesting to learn where this species 

 inosculates with its close ally Sterna nereis. I have never seen or heard of a specimen of the 

 latter being obtained in New South Wales waters. On the other hand I have never known 

 Sterna sinensis to occur on the sea or beaches of Victoria. When hovering on the wing over the 

 surface of the water, and eagerly intent on capturing some small fish or marine organism, this 

 Tern is e.xtremely graceful in all its actions, or when flying at a greater height, with head and 

 bill carried at right angles to the body, it closely scans the waters beneath for its aquatic prey. 

 It utters a sharp, shrill note, and when a flock of these birds are on the wing together, their 

 united cries create a mixed volume of sounds. 



Mr. Thos. P. Austin wrote as follows from Cobborah Station, Cobbora, New South Wales : — 

 " The first time I saw Sterna sinensis was on the night of the i6th November, 1907, at \'ictor 

 Island, near Mackay, Eastern Queensland, arriving there in a yacht just after dark. We at 

 once launched a dinghy, and with the assistance of a powerful acetylene lamp visited a sand bank 

 a few hundred yards from the main island. I soon heard the plaintive cries of Sterna sinensis, 

 which caused me to think they were nesting, and this proved to be the case. I saw two of their 

 nests amongst shingles, with two eggs in each ; these nests were at least a hundred yards apart, 

 but they also nest in groups, because the next morning, while walking round the main island, I 

 saw four of their nests within a few feet of each other, all of which had eggs." 



Mr. Chas. G. Hamilton sent the following note : — " On the gth December, 1896, I found 

 several sets of eggs of Sterna sinensis at the mouth of Lake Illawarra. The nests consisted only 

 of hollows scraped out by the birds on the bare sandy beach. 1 have also been informed that 

 this species bred freely at the mouth of Tom Thumb Lagoon, near Wollongong." 



The eggs in number, colour and disposition of markings are not to be distinguished from 

 those of the preceding species. Sterna nereis. They are usually two or three in number for a 

 sitting, but frequently only one is laid, oval or elongate oval in form, some specimens being 

 slightly pointed, others terminating abruptly, towards the smaller end, the shell being close- 

 grained, smooth and lustreless. The ground colour is of a dull white, faint creamy-white, pale 

 coffee-brown or stone-grey, with dots, spots, small penumbral blotches of blackish-brown, umber 

 brown, and dark slaty-grey, with which are intermingled fainter underlying markings of the 



