1016 



S YSTEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — L ONGIPENNES. 



{Subgenus Onychoprion.) 



{Haliplana of former editions of Key and of A. O. TJ, 1886-95.) 



S. fuligino'sa. (Lat. fuliginosa, sooty. Fig. 699.) Sooty Tern. ECxG Bird. Wide- 

 awake. Bill as long as head, not much exceeded by whole foot, straight, stout at base, taper- 

 ing, acute, gonys ascending, commissure not decurved ; nostrils rather far forward. Tail deeply 

 forked, as in Sterna proper ; feet stout; toes short, with much incised webs. Plumage bicolor. 

 Adult (J 9 , in summer : Bill and feet black ; iris red. On forehead a white crescent reaching 



above eyes, separated from white 

 of cheeks by a black bridle from eye 

 obliquely downward and forward to 

 bill. Entire upper parts black, with 

 slight greenish gloss. Entire under 

 parts white, reaching on sides of 

 head to eyes, and more than half- 

 way around neck. Primaries black- 

 ish, lighter on inner webs but with- 

 out any white wedges, their shafts 

 blown above, white below ; secon- 

 daries like primaries, but most of 

 their inner webs whitish; lining of 

 wings white. Tail like back, duller 

 on under surface, the streamers 

 white, with white shafts, darkening 

 toward end, especially on inner 

 webs. In winter : Similar, but 

 with some white spots in black of 

 crown. Young entirely ditferent : Bill black above, dull reddish below ; eyes and feet dull 

 reddish. Whole plumage smoky-brown, darkest above, paler and grayish or whitish on belly, 

 almost black on primaries; upper wing-coverts and scapulars tipped with white, giving 

 a peculiar spotty appearance ; feathers of back, rump, and upper tail-coverts margined with 

 dull rufous. Tail like wings in color, little forked, lateral feathers not elongated. Downy 

 young, gray dotted with whitish on upper parts, mostly white below. Adults: Length 15.00- 

 17.00, averaging about 16.50; extent about 34.00; wing 12.00; tail 7.50, forked 3.00-3.50; 

 bill along culnienl.80; gape 2.50; depth at base 0.50; tibia bare 0.70 ; tarsus 1.00; middle 

 toe and claw 1.20; outer do. 1.05; inner do. 0.75; hind do. 0.30. A well-known inhabitant 

 of most of the warmer parts of the globe, with a host of synonyms, both generic and specific. 

 In North America N. in summer along Atlantic coast regularly to the Carolinas, casually to 

 New England. Eggs 1-3, dropped on the sand, 2.00-2.12 X 1 .40-1.50, buff, creamy, or white, 

 sparingly. spotted and splashed with light brown, rich brown, and pale purplish. This bird 

 is type of 3 different generic names by Wagler — Onychoprion, Isis, 1832, p. 277 ; Planetis, 

 Isis, 1832, p. 1222; and Haliplana, Isis, 1832, p. 1224; the first of these has priority, as I 

 have remarked before, Proc. Phila. Acad. 1862, p. 556, and Auk, July, 1897, p. 314. Ony- 

 choprion has therefore been adopted instead of Haliplana by the A. 0. U. in Suppl. List, 

 Auk, Jan. 1899, p. 99. 



S. f. crissa'lis. (Lat. crissalis, crissal, relating to the crissum.) Crissal Sooty' Tern. 

 Like the last ; crissum ashy instead of white. W. coast of Mexico up to the Gulf of Cali- 

 fornia, and widely dispersed in the Pacific. Not in former editions oi the Key. Baird MS. 

 apud Lawr. Pr. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist, xiv, June, 1871, p. 285 and p. 301 ; Mem. Bost. Soc 

 Nat. Hist, ii, 1874, p. 318. Not iu A. 0. U. Lists. 



Fig. C99. — Foot of Sooty 

 Tern, nat. size. (From Saunders.) 



Fig. 700. — Foot of Bridled 

 Tern, nat. size. (From Saunders.) 



