382 



BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



Mbi6ftere£) ^ern. 





The Whiskered Tern {^Hydrochelidon hybrida^ Pallas) is an 

 exceedingly rare abnormal spring and autumn migrant to 

 the British Isles. It inhabits the Southern Palearctic and 

 Oriental Regions, wintering in South Africa, and eastward 

 has occurred as far south as Australia. The adult in breed- 

 ing plumage has the head and nape of neck black ; upper 

 parts, lightish-grey; sides of face, chin, throat, and tail, 

 white; under wing-coverts, white; chest, light grey; belly 

 and flanks, blackish; irides, dark hazel; bill, deep red; 

 legs and feet, bright red. Length, about eleven inches. 

 The adult in winter has the forehead white; crown, mottled 

 with white; under plumage, white. The young in first 

 plumage have the feathers of upper parts margined with 

 reddish. 



