288 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Mr. B. S. Bowdish (1900) found a small colony nesting on Dese- 

 cheo Island, near Porto Rico, on June 23, of which he writes : 



These birds are nothing like as common as the noddy. I think it doubtful if 

 50 pairs of birds were breeding on the entire island. They are also, I should 

 judge, later in their breeding, the only three nesting sites which I found 

 occupied containing a single egg in which incubation was only just commenced. 

 Also I noted birds showing strong anxiety regarding certain nooks under the 

 rocks, quite similar to those where eggs were found, and I have no doubt that 

 these were nesting sites selected but not yet laid in. In one such case the 

 native caught the male bird on the nest, or at least in the nook. 



The first egg was found in a slightly hollowed spot on a flat rock and arched 

 over by a small rock. No pretense at nesting material whatever. The second 

 was in a sort of pocket in the face of the cliff at about 40 feet above beach. 

 The third was under an overhanging rock about 10 feet above beach. From 

 the small amount of data I should judge that the birds almost always select 

 rather hidden and covered sites, and from this fact, and the further one that 

 they do not sit nearly so close as the noddy, their nests are not so easily found, 

 the noddy tern being usually easily seen in its nesting ledge, whereas the 

 bridled leaves its nesting site with a dash often before you see it. 



Dr. George W. Field (1894) gives a good account of a small colony 

 near Kingston, Jamaica, as follows: 



At the entrance to Kingston Harbor are several cays, varying in size from a 

 mere sand bank to islands of an acre or more in area. The larger of these are 

 dignified by names. Between South Cay and Drunkenman Cay there is a small 

 island, composed entirely of broken coral rock ; in reality it is merely a part 

 of the barrier reef above water. Close by and to the southeast of this is a 

 larger, sandy cay, with a few broken slabs of loose coral rock, the western end 

 of which is covered with mangroves. Upon the former of these islands we 

 found, June 15, about a dozen pairs of bridled terns, evidently breeding, but 

 from the nature of the place we were able to find but a single young bird in 

 the dov^Ti, for the slabs piled in confusion furnished a labyrinth into which 

 they beat a hasty retreat and from which they were not easily dislodged. 

 Leaving the island we landed on the wooded island last mentioned and here 

 we found three or more pairs breeding. Under a flat rock, supported at one 

 end by another rock, we found the single egg laid as usual on the bare sand ; 

 the bird darting out at our approach betrayed the place. 



Eggs. — The eggs of the bridled tern are somewhat similar to 

 those of the sooty tern, and are nearly as handsome, but they do not 

 show such a wide range of variation and are usually much more 

 finely and evenly spotted, the bold, striking color patterns being sel- 

 dom seen. The ground color is pinkish white, creamy white, or pure 

 white, which is generally well covered Avith rather small spots of 

 a great variety of shades of brown, from the darkest shades to bright 

 reddish brown, also various shades of drab, gray, violet, and laven- 

 der; occasionally an egg is boldly splashed or blotched with violet- 

 gray or lavender, overlaid with bold markings of brilliant shades of 

 brown, and producing a very pretty effect. The measurements of 20 

 eggs in the United States National Museum average 46 by 33.2 

 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 49.5 by 

 31.7, 47.5 by 35.5, 40.6 by 31.7 and 43.1 by 31.2 millimeters. 



