30 GULLS AND TERNS 



blackish around eyes and on back of head ; forehead and under parts 

 white ; back light gray with buffy edgings to feathers and dusky spots on 

 wings ; bill and feet brownish or pale reddish. Length : 13-16, wing 9.75- 

 11.75, bill 1.25-1.50, tail 5-7, forked for about 3.50. 



Distribution. — Greater part of northern hemisphere ; in America mainly 

 east of the plains ; south to Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Lower California. 



Nest. — Made of grasses or seaweeds, or eggs laid on the bare rock, or in a 

 depression in the sand. Eggs : 2 to 4, pale bluish to greenish drab, with 

 lilac shell markings and rather evenly distributed spots of brown. 



The common terns are mainly birds of the Atlantic coast, and 

 together with other terns and gulls have been so sought after by 

 plume hunters and eggers that a few years ago they w^ere on the road 

 to extermination. The Bird Protection Committee of the American 

 Ornithologists' Union took up the matter, however, and by the ap- 

 pointment of wardens to protect the birds on their breeding grounds, 

 and by protective laws enacted in the states where the terns occur, 

 succeeded in rescuing the birds, which, in addition to their useful 

 w^ork as scavengers, give life and beauty to otherwise barren shores. 



71. Sterna paradissea 5rwnn. Arctic Tern. 



Outer web of outer tail feather dusky, rest of tail white. Adults in 

 summer : bill and feet bright vermilion, bill without black tip ; top of head 

 black, bordered by white superciliary ; body clear deep gray. Adults in 

 winter : under parts white, or tinged with grayish ; forehead white, rest of 

 crown streaked with black. Young : similar to young of hirundo, but with 

 breast and throat washed with dull brownish. Length : 14-17, wing 10.00- 

 10.75, bill 1.08-1.40, tail 6.50-8.50, forked for 4-5. 



Distribution. — Mainly circumpolar regions ; south in winter to Massa- 

 chusetts, Colorado, and California, breeding in Massachusetts and Quebec. 

 Nest. — A bare spot on the ground, sometimes with a little grass. Eggs : 

 1 to 3. 



Subgenus Sternula. 

 74. Sterna antillarum (Less.). Least Tern. 



Breeding plurnage. — Upper parts pearl gray, with black lores and black 



on top and back of head ; two or three outer 



quills mainly dusky ; forehead superciliary, 



and under parts white. Adults in winter : 



crown grayish, whole forehead white. 



'^' ■ Young : like adults in winter but with 



brownish on back, and with U or V-shaped margins to part of feathers. 



Lejigth : 8.50-9.75, wing 6.60. bill 1.20, tail 3.50, forked for about 1.75. 



Distribution. — United States from California, Dakota, the Great Lakes, 

 and Massachusetts south to northern South America. 



Eggs. — 2 to 4, biiff to cream white, spotted about the larger end with 

 brown and lilac ; laid in a depression in the sand on an island or sand 

 beach. 



The least tern is abundant along the coast of southern California 

 in summer, arriving, Mr. Grinnell says, about the middle of April 

 and leaving usually the latter part of August. He states that it 

 nests abundantly in suitable places along the seacoast, generally on 



