194 



British Birds. 



in colonies. The nest is made of decaying; plants and weeds, the e!,'i;s beint; only 

 three in number, varvin.i; from deep clay-colour to greenish ,L;re>- or buff, with black 

 confluent blotches or spots, and jjrey underlying spots. The length is about an 

 inch-and-a-half. 



An accidental visitor to Great I3ritain, of which five examples 

 have been recorded from England and one from Ireland. It is 

 a South European species, but it also breeds in Africa and 

 India. It is easily distinguished by its red bill, white chin and 

 sides of face, and white under wing-coverts, as well as by the grej' 

 upper and under tail-coverts. In the winter plumage, when it re- 

 sembles H . nigra more closely, it may be told by the deeper incision of the web on the 

 foot. In habits it resembles the Black Tern, and breeds in colonies. The nests float on 

 the water, and are merely platforms of reeds and rushes. The eggs are three in 

 number, of a greenish-grey or clay-colour, with blackish blotches and scribblings ; 

 their length is from an inch-and-three-eighths to an inch-and-five-eighths. 

 This species has 



THE WHISKERED 



TERN. 



(Hydrochelidon 



Jiybrida ) 



Sec p. 195. 



THE 



WHITE-WINGED 



BLACK TERN. 



(Hydrochelidun 



lettcoptern.) 



the under surface of 

 the body and the 

 under wing-coverts 

 black, and it is 

 easily told by the 



white upper tail-coverts and tail, and 



by the patch of white along the carpal 



bend of the wing. In winter the white 



tail still distinguishes the species, but 



young birds are more difficult to tell, 



though they always show some white 



on the rump. It has occurred many 



times on the southern and eastern 



coasts of I*'ngland, as well as in 



Ireland. It breeds throughout the 



marshes of Southern Europe and Central Asia, as well as in .Vtrica. In habits, 



nest and eggs, the species resembles the other Marsh Terns. 



As will be gathered from its name, this Tern has a ver}- stout 

 bill, like that of a Gull. The tail is short, and decidedly forked, 

 and the tarsus is long, e.xceeding the length of the middle toe 

 and claw. The Gull-billed Tern is a common bird in Southern 

 Europe and even nests as far north as Denmark, and it is also 

 found breeding" in China, Australia and North America. It has 



been taken in England on several occasions. It feeds on small fish and frogs, as 



well as on grasshoppers and other insects. The nest is a hollow in the sand, lined 



ThK WHITE-WINGKr) Black Tekn. 



THE 

 GULL-BILLED 



TERN. 



{Gclochelidon 



auglica.) 



