54 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



Sabine's Gull is essentially an Arctic species, 

 though it occasionally wanders as far south as 

 the North Atlantic States and has been taken as 

 a straggler on Long Island, on the Great Lakes, 

 and on Great Salt Lake, Utah. In any of its 

 plumages it may readily be recognized by its 

 forked tail — whence one of its names. The 

 normal diet of this Gull appears to be composed 



partly of marine insects, most of which probably 

 are obtained on beaches where they are left by 

 receding waves. The species seems first to have 

 been described by Sabine, from specimens taken 

 by his brother, a member of the Northwest Ex- 

 pedition of 1818, on one of a group of rocky 

 islands ofif the coast of Greenland. 



George Gladden. 



TERNS 



Order Longipcnucs; family Laiidcr; subfamily Stcrnincc 



TSTRIBUTED throughout the world are over fifty species of Terns, ten occurring 

 regularly in North America. These birds belong to the family Laridcc which 

 includes the Gulls, and is part of the order of Long-winged Swimmers. All of 

 the species are exceedingly graceful and expert on the wing, and some show 

 extraordinary endurance in flight. This is true especially of the Arctic Tern, 

 whose journey from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back each year, is one 

 of the most astonishing known feats in the bird world. 



The Terns are often called "Sea Swallows," and for obvious reasons, as 

 several of the species are not unlike large Swallows both in appearance and 

 in flight. They are generally smaller than the Gulls, and their bodies are 

 more elongated, but in coloration they more or less resemble their larger relatives, 

 whom they also resemble in their food and feeding habits, with the exception of their diving 

 practices. The Terns hover and plunge for their food, while the Gulls alight on the water 

 to feed. Because of this characteristic, Terns have often been called "Strikers." 



Again like the Gulls, the Terns are decidedly gregarious and often breed in colonies 

 of thousands on ledges; some of the species occasionally place their nests on the limbs of 

 large forest trees. Generally the nests on the grounds are little more than mere depressions, 

 and often they are placed so close together that in walking through a nesting place, it is 

 difficult to avoid treading upon either the eggs or the young. When hatched, the young 

 are covered with down of a mottled pattern, and, although sometimes they will enter the 

 water of their own accord and swim about, they are dependent upon their parents until 

 they acquire the power of flight. 



GULL-BILLED TERN 



Gelochelidon nilotica (Linncrus) 



.\. O. V. Number 63 See Color Plate 7 



Other Names. — Marsh Tern ; Egyptian Tern ; Nutt- 

 all's Tern: Anglican Tern; Nile Tern. 



General Description. — Length. 13 to 15 inches. 

 Color, white with light bluish-gray mantle. Bill, stout 

 and short, and curved over at tip. 



Color. — Adults in Summer: Croivn and crest, glassy 

 grcenisli-black, extending to level of eyes, leaving only 

 a narrow white line on upper side of bill; mantle, light 

 grayish-blue ; primaries, grayish-black but heavily sil- 

 vered, appearing much lighter ; tail, color of mantle 

 fading to pure white at base; chin, throat, neck all 

 around, and under parts, pure white; hill, black, usually 

 with narrow yellow tip ; legs, greenish-black ; iris, 

 brown. Adults in Winter: The forehead and fore- 



part of crown, white; black restricted to hind head and 

 nape; side of head and a spot in front of eye. gray; 

 otherwise similar to summer plumage. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: A mere depression among 

 the reeds of marshes; sometimes on sandy shores. 

 Eggs : 3. olive-bufif irregularly marked with umber- 

 brown, blackish, and lavender. 



Distribution. — Nearly cosmopolitan ; breeds in North 

 America, on coasts of Texas. Louisiana. North Caro- 

 lina, Virginia (formerly to New Jersey), and in the 

 Bahamas; wanders casually to Maine and Ohio; winters 

 in southern Mexico. Central America, and all of South 

 America ; breeds also in Europe. Asia, and Australia, 

 wintering to northern Africa. 



