1 98 



British Bii-ds. 



THE SANDWICH 



TERN. 



{Stt'l'tia cn)itin<'ti.) 



THE SMALLER 



SOOTY TERN. 



(Sterna ntucslluia.) 



reception of its ejjgs, which are only two in number; thev are a httle larger than 

 those of the Commnn Tern, and measure from an inch-and-a-half to an inch- 

 and-se\'en -eighths. 



The present species is larger than the cither species of Sli'nia, 

 and is recognised by its black feet and bill, the latter having a 

 yellow tip. The head is crested, the feathers being pointed and 

 so forming a crest. The Sandwich Tern is a summer visitor tc' 

 Great Britain, and still breeds in a few places where it is protected, but many of its 

 old nesting-haunts are no longer frequented. It breeds throughout Southern Europe 

 and the Caspian Sea, as well as in Eastern North America. In winter it is found 

 along the African coasts and those of the Indian Ocean, as well as ofi" Central 

 America. The nest is a depression in the sand, and is sometimes lined with 

 bents. The eggs are two. seldom three, in number, clav-coloured. and generalK 

 boldly blotched with black. They measure two to two-and-a-half inches in length. 



The upper 

 surface in this 

 species is sooty 

 black, with a 

 white lorchead and a black streak 

 through the lores ; the mantle is 

 somewhat more gre\' than the 

 head or back. The young birds 

 are quite difl'erent from those of 

 other Terns, being of an uniform 

 soot}' colour with white or rufous 

 tips to the feathers. The species 

 inhabits the seas of the Trojiics on both sides ol the Atlantic, and is found also in 

 the Indian and Pacific Oceans. One specimen is said to have been caught at the 

 mouth of the Thames in September, 1S75. This Tern lays its single egg in the 

 fissure of a rock or in holes of tiie coral sandstone. 



This Tern is exactly like the foregoing, but is a larger bird, 

 and has the web of the foot more fully developed and not so 

 much excised as in that species. It is generally' distributed over 

 the southern oceans, and has occuried in England on three 

 occasions. It nests in enormous numbers on Ascension Island 

 and on other islands such as Laysan and also on the islands of Torres' Straits. 

 The single egg is laid on the sand or among the fissures of volcanic or coral rocks. 

 The small size and the yellow bill, tipped with black, serve 

 to distinguish the Little Tern from its allies. It nests throughout 

 the greater part of Europe and Central Asia, and is lound along the 

 coasts of the African and Indian Oceans in winter. It breeds in 



The Sm.^llkr Sootv Tern. 



THE 



SOOTY TEKN. 



{SIi'Hiii fnlii;inus(i.\ 



ScL p. 193. 



THE 



LITTLE TERN. 



{Sterna niiniita.) 



