STERNA DOUGALLI, ROSEATE TERN. 689 



Adult, hreeding jjli'magc— BUI about equal to the bead, nearly as loug as tbe tarsus, 

 middle toe aud claw, to<;etber ; straight, sleuder, much compressed, much higher thau 

 broad at the base, the tip excessively acute, culmeu \ ery narrow aud transversely very 

 convex, eveu at the base ; geutly aud equally curved from base to tip. Commissure a 

 little sinuate toward the base, gradually declinato-convex for the rest of its length. 

 Gonys very long, much exceeding the rami, its outliue very sharp, perfectly straight. 

 Outline of crura decidedly concave ; tbe intercrural space very narrow, two-thirds 

 tilled with feathers ; tbe emineutia symphysis very acute, but not prominent. Tomia 

 of both mandibles inHected, and, from the great compression of the bill, very closely 

 approximated for two-thirds their length. Nasal groove moderately long aud wide, 

 but so exceedingly shallow as hardly to merit the name of suJcii-i. It terminates 

 before it reaches tbe tomia, aud a well-defined slender ridge runs forward from its an- 

 terior extremity till it is lost in the tomia. Nostrils of ordinary size and shape. 

 JEncroachment of the feathers on the bill as usual. "Wings considerably short for this 

 genus, a little rounded ; the first primary only moderately longer than the second ; all 

 rather obtuse, with rounded tips. Tertials and inner secoudaries rather loug aud flow- 

 ing. Tail exceedingly loug, contained scarcely li times in the wing; the central 

 feathers short and rounded at their ends ; the lateral excessively elongated, slender, 

 tapering regularly to a very acute point.* The feet are of moderate length aud stout- 

 ness. The tibiie are bare for only a remarkably short distance. The usual scutellatiou 

 and reticulation. Tarsus a little longer than the middle toe alone ; a little shorter 

 than tbe middle toe and claw. Lateral toes short ; the outer not reaching the base of 

 the claw of the middle ; the tip of the claAV of the inner falling short of the base of 

 the claw of the middle. Webs of moderate width aud amouut of emargiuation. 

 Claws rather short, and all remarkably arched and curved, moderately acute, the edge 

 of the iuuer a little dilated. 



Bill pure black ; its tip in extremo slightly yellowish ; its base for a varying distance, 

 and the inside of the mouth, bright red. Pileum pure, lustrous, velvety black ; extend- 

 ing far down on the nape aud also very broad, reaching to the lower level of the eyes, 

 and widening somewhat on the temples aud auriculars. Under eyelid, however, white, 

 as is also a rather broad streak which runs along the side of the upper mandible to 

 the extremity of the feathers. Neck all round and whole under parts, including the 

 under surfaces of the wings, pure white, with a more or less notable tinge of a delicate 

 rosy color. On the back of the neck the white iuseusibly shades into the very light, 

 delicate pearl-blue which extends over the whole upper parts, including the rump and 

 base of the tail, where, however, it is slightly lighter thau on the dorsum. The tips 

 of the tertials aud the inner vanes of the secondaries fade into pure white. The shafts 

 of all the primaries are on both sides pure white nearly to their tips. The outer web 

 of the first primary is deep grayish-black, lighter at the tip. All the primaries are 

 light grayish-black, very strongly silvered over. The inner webs of all of them are 

 pure white for more than half their breadth ; this white portion being broadest on the 

 first, toward the base of which it occupies the whole web ; and ou all of them contin- 

 uing <iuite to the apices of the feathers, and even going around the tips slightly on to 

 the outer web. The long rectrices are white, with just an appreciable shade of 

 pearly. The legs and feet bright yellowish-red ; the w ebs lighter, the claws black. 



Adult, whiter phtmagi'.— Bill dull black ; the tip for a greater distance dull yellowish ; 

 tbe base of the under mandible somewhat brownish. The forehead and cheeks white. 

 The crown of the head, the occiput, nape, auricular and circumocular regions, brown- 

 ish-V)lack, almost or quite unmixed with white, except just on the vertex. There is, 

 therefore, a greater extent aiul pernuuiency of the pileum than in most other species. 

 Neck all round and uuder parts white, without any roseate tinge. Lesser coverts along 

 the edge of the fore-arm brownish, but tbe band narrow and not very dark colored. 

 Something of tbe brownish is also to be traced along the edge of tbe metacarpus. Pri- 

 maries and secondaries much as in summer. The tail has, however, quite lost its length, 

 the external rectrices being so much abbreviated as to produce only oiur or two iuchea 

 of emargiuation, and tlie tail, with its coverts, may be pearly like tlie back. 



youii;/-of-tli(-!/<ar he/ore ilic hioh//.— Length 10.50 to 11 inches. The hill is exceedingly 

 small, slender, and weak ; its tip obtuse ; its ridges and angles poorly defined ; and it 

 is everywhere covered with skin so soft as to wrinkle in drying. It nuasures hardly 

 1.10 inches in length by 0:2b in heiglit at tbe base (compare dimensions of adult) ; it 

 is wholly dull greenish-idack, a little lighter at the base of the lower mandible. The 

 primaries have, not fully grown out, so that the wing from the carpus measures only 

 7.25; tbe second primary is longest, third nearly equal, first short, scarcely exceeding 

 the fourth. The primaries are colored, however, almost exactly as in the adults, as 

 reganls their jiattern, the broad wliitcf inner margins extending around their tijis. 

 Tbe shafts of all are pure white, except apically. 'J he outer web of the first i)rimary 



* The external rectrices of this species are for the Stcrninw almost what tbe central 

 rectrices of Slirconiriua huffoni arc for tbo Lcntridina; in comparison with other species 

 of their respective subfamilies. 



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