ARCTIC TERN. 237 



Streamers. The under parts are slightly suffused with grey, 

 sometimes showing a pinkish blush, but they are white in 

 winter, when the cap is also mottled with white. The red bill 

 is black tipped, the legs coral-red, and the irides very dark 

 brown. Length, I4'25 ins. Wing, 10*5 ins. Tarsus, o*8 in. 



Arctic Tern. Sterna paradisea Briinn. 



• Few birds, if any, have a greater range than the Arctic Tern 

 (Plate 105), for it nests far north of the Arctic circle, and, 

 as proved by Dr. Eagle Clarke, occurs in winter in the 

 Antarctic, unless, as has been suggested, there is a southern 

 form. In the British Isles, the southern limit of its breeding 

 range in Europe, it outnumbers the Common Tern in Scotland 

 and Ireland, but has only a few colonies in England and Wales. 

 In some of these, for instance the Fames and Walney, the two 

 species nest close together, but even there the colonies are more 

 or less distinct. 



As a summer visitor the Arctic Tern arrives a little later 

 than the Common ; it is often May before the birds appear, and 

 well into June before eggs are laid. The characters by which 

 it can be recognised — the blood-red bill, deeper grey under 

 parts, short tarsus, and narrow grey stripe on the primary — 

 have been already stated. In general appearance, manner of 

 flight, food and feeding habits, and to some extent voice, it 

 closely resembles the previous species ; its usual call is shorter 

 — a harsh kleeah. Rocky islands and stacks are more frequently 

 occupied as breeding colonies than sites on the mainland, but 

 there are some large terneries on dunes, sand, and shingle, and 

 a number on inland lakes. Of late years there has been some 

 extension southward of its breeding range, and small parties 

 have appeared in terneries which previously contained only 

 Common Terns. Though there is much variation in the site 

 and construction of the nest, eggs are frequently laid on 



