LARIDuE—STERNlN.E: TERNS, SEA SWALLOWS. 1007 



1.00-1.25; tibiae bare 0.90; tarsus 1.37; middle toe and claw 1.40. Tropical and temperate 

 America; Brazil and Peru to California and New England, chiefly coastwise, sometimes in 

 the interior, as in Nevada and the region of the Great Lakes ; but Audubon's Labrador record 

 belongs to S. caspia; also ascribed to West Africa. A fine species, second in size only to S. 

 caspia; linear measurement nearly as great, owing to elongation of tail, but bulk much less. 

 Breeds in great colonies along our Atlantic coast at various points from Texas to the Middle 

 States; eggs laid on the sand, mostly 2 or 3, sometimes 1 or 4 (?), 2.60-2.70 X about 1.70, 

 narrower and especially more pointed than those of caspia, rougher; yellowish-drab, creamy, or 

 nearly white, irregularly blotched with dark umber and pale purplish, some of the brown spots 

 almost black, at least in part, with washed out edges, and some of the markings tending to be 

 scrawly. Chicks boldly spotted above with dusky. (Sterna {Thalasseus) regia of former edi- 

 tions of the Key.) 



S. (A.) e'legans. (Lat. elegans, choice. Fig. 092.) Elegant Tern. Princely Tern. 

 Similar to the last; smaller and differently proportioned; bill as long, much slenderer; tarsus 

 if anytl)ing longer than middle toe and claw; mantle very pale; under parts rosy in high plu- 

 mage. Bill much longer than head, exceeding the tarsus, middle toe and claw together; much 

 compressed, very slender, 

 scarcely \ as deep at base as 

 long ; culmen quite straight 

 to beyond nostrils, then 

 slightly convex for the rest 

 of its length ; commissure 

 curved for nearly its whole 

 length ; mandibular rami 

 very short, concave in out- 

 line, their angle of divergence very acute. Gonys extremely long, exceeding the mandibular 

 rami, its outline straight. Tomia much inflected. Nasal groove long, fully half the culmen, 

 Tiarrow, not deep, directed obliquely downward and forward toward the tomia. A few indis- 

 tinct oblique stria; on both mandibles. Outline of feathers on bill as usual. Adult ^ ^ , m 

 summer : Bill bright red, salmon-colored toward tip. Feet black ; soles and under surfaces of 

 claws slightly yellowish. Crown, including long-flowing occiftital crest, pure black, reaching 

 on sides of head to a level with lower border of eye, white of cheeks accompanying the black 

 to end of feathers in nasal fossae. All the under parts rosy-white, with satin gloss. Tail pure 

 wliite. Mantle pale pearl-bl lie ; usual pattern of coloration of primaries. "Length 19; ex- 

 tent 48" (label); culmen 2.75; gape nearly 4.50; depth of bill at base 0.50; gonys 1.50; 

 not shorter than mandibular rami; wing 12.25; tail 7.50; depth of fork 3.50; tarsus 1.25; 

 middle toe and claw tlie same, or rather less. In winter : Bill orange, fading to yellow at tip 

 and along cutting edges. Forehead entirely white; crown varied with dusky and white, black 

 prevailing on hind head, complete on occipital crest and sides of head to eyes. No ]>ink blush 

 of under parts. Tail shorter than in summer, 5.00 or less, forked only about 2.00, washed 

 over with pearly-blue. Total length less, owing to less development of tail, 16.00-17.00. 

 Young not seen ; said to differ from the adults as those of S. maxima do; bill short and black- 

 ish. A truly elegant sjiecies, resembling the Royal Tern, but easily distinguished. South and 

 Central America on the Pacific side, Chili to San Francisco, California; almost unknown on 

 our Gulf or Atlantic coast, but a specimen from Corpus Christi, Texas, reported. Eggs 2.45 

 X 1.45, creamy, with bold dark bnavn and blackish spots. (Sterna (TJialasseus) elegans of 

 former editions of the Key) 



S. (A.) saiidvicen'sis acuflav'ida. (Lat. of Sandwich, one of the Cinque Ports in Kent, 

 England, where this Tern was taken in Latham's time (1784) by a Mr. Boys. Lat. acus, a 

 needle, point, tip, and Jlacidiis, yellowish, referring to the colored tip of the yellow bill. 



Fio. G92. —Elegant Tern, | nat. size. (From Sclater and Salvin.) 



