TJic Gulls. 



199 



scattered colonies on most of the shores 

 of the British Islands. The hahits of the 

 Little Tern resemble those of its larger 

 brethren, and the nest is a depression in 

 the sand, though in some places it 

 is surrounded by a ring of shells. The 

 eggs measure a little over an inch-and- 

 a quarter, but never reach an inch-and- 

 a-half in length. The eggs are two, 

 si.ldoni three, in number, of a light 

 buff or clay-brown, with the blackish 

 markings distributed over the egg and 

 seldom forming blotches. 



The Little Tern. 



The Noddy Tkrn. 



nearly flat on the top. There is only one eg 



guished from the egg of that 



bird by the green colour inside 



when held up to the light ; 



the length is from two inches 



to two-and -three-eighths. 



Sabine's 



(lull belongs 



to the group 



of fork-tailed 

 Gulls. It is a beautiful 

 little bird, of a grey colour 

 above, which extends over the 

 throat, and is separated from 

 the white breast by a black 



THE 



NODDY TERN. 



{Anons stoliiiiis.) 



The u n i f o r m 

 c h o c o 1 a t e - b r o w n 

 colour and the grey 

 crown render the 

 Noddy easil}' recognisable. Two speci- 

 mens have been obtained in Ireland, 

 but the species inhabits the tropical 

 seas, where it nests on many of the 

 islands in large numbers, the nest being 

 placed on the ground or on the top of a 

 small bush; it is made of sea-weed and is 

 .similar to that of the Sootv Tern, but distin- 



.'-..-= _.- 



SABINE'S 



GULL. 



(Xenia subinii.) 



Sabine's Gull. 



