56 BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 



the wing ; or.ter webs of several tail featliei's, dusky ; Ijill, l)laekisli or dusky red, 

 with yellow on the under mandible ; feet, <lull orange, smaller than hinuuh, 

 but tail much longer. Length, 14-17; wing, 10-12; tail, 5-8; bill, 1.20-1.40. 



Hab. — Northern hemisphere; in North America breeding from Massa- 

 chusetts to the Arctic regions, and wintering southward to Virginia and 

 California. 



Eggs, two oi' thiee ; laiil on tlie bare rock or sand ; drab, spotted and dcished 

 with brown of ditVerent shades, imlistinguishablc fiom those of the common 

 tern. 



For .several reason.s tlie terus which visit Ontario are less known 

 than birds belonging to other classes. They are not sought after by 

 sportsmen, and at present the number of collectors is so few that the 

 .sea swallows (as they are here called) are little molested. There are 

 several species, such as the Common Tern, Forster's Tern, and the one 

 we are now considering, which resemlile each other so closely that 

 the difference can only be made out on careful examination by one 

 who is familiar with their appearance. Compared with the Common 

 Tern, the present species is a Inrd of moi-e slender make, the tail 

 feathers ])eing usuallv much longei-, and tlii' under parts of a nuich 

 darker shade. 



In the spring and fall tlocks of terns resembling each other in 

 general appearance are seen frequenting Hamilton Bay and the inlets 

 along the shores of Lake Ontario. Considering the range of this 

 species, it is likely that it is here with the others, but among the few 

 which T have killerl I have not found an Arctic. 



In the collection of birds brought together under the direction of 

 the late Prof. Hincks, and sent to the Paris Exposition in 1867, a 

 pair of Arctic Terns was included which wpi-(^ said to have been 

 procured near Toronto. 



The species is of circumpolai' distiibution. Dr. IJcIl found it on 

 Hudson's Bay, and it occurs on the coast of California, l)ut is not 

 named among the V)irds of Manitolia, l)eing perhaps strictly maritime 

 in its haunts. 



Around the shores of Great Biitain it is the most al>undant of its 

 class, and here, too, it is remarked that it does not occur inland. 



Mr. (iray, in his " Birds of the West of Scotland," says regarding 

 it : " On the western shores of R(jss, Tnv(Mness and Argyleshire, there 

 are numerous breeding places for this bird, e.specially on the rocky 

 islands in the soa-lochs stretching inland, such as Loch Sunart, Loch 

 Alsh and Loch Etive. These nurseries are equally numerous off the 

 coast of Mull, and others of the largei' islands foiniing the Inner 

 Hebrides." 



