STER^•A. 89 



78. STERNA HI RUN DO [,inna>us. 



COMMON TERN. 



Sterna hintndo Linn.eus, Syst. Nat. ed. 10 (1758), 1, 137. 



Sterna ffuviatilis Saunders, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 25, 54; Sharpe, 



Hand-List (1899), "1, 135; Gates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1901), 1, 182; 



McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 20. 



Calayan (McGregor) . Countries on both sides of Atlantic Ocean, Indian and 

 African coasts in winter, Brazilian coasts in winter. 



"Adult male in breeding plumage. — Forehead, upper lores, crown, and 

 nape black; mantle rather dark pearl-gray; secondaries narrowl)' mar- 

 gined with white ; outer primary with a black outer web, and a broad 

 streak (10 mm.) of very dark gray next the white shaft on inner web, 

 ]-est of inner wel) white, except toward tip, where it is dark ash-gray; 

 inner primaries paler gray, with white 'wedges' and dark gray margins 

 to inner webs; rump whitish; tail-feathers white, with gray outer wel)s, 

 those of the streamers darkest; chin and cheeks white; breast and belly 

 pale, vinaceous-gray ; under wing- and under tail-coverts white. Bill 

 coral-red, the extreme tip horn-color; iris dark brown; tarsi and toes 

 coral-red. Length, 362; culmen, 43; wing, '2()7; tail, 165; depth of fork, 

 82 ; tarsus, 22 ; middle toe with claw, 24. 



"Female. — Similar to the male. 



"Adult in winter plumage. — Like tlu' above, but forehead and crown 

 streaked and mottled witli white; colors of l)ill and feet much duller 

 from Septend)er onwards, under parts paler. 



"Immature. — Like the above, but the forehead white: a dark gray l)and 

 along upper wing-coverts; under parts distinctly white. 



""Young (in August). — Mantle barred and mottled with ash-brown; 

 outer webs of tail-feathers dark gray ; band on wing-coverts more extended 

 than in the immature bird; otiierwise simihir. in fledglings the upper 

 parts are much marked with warm butf. 



"Up to about the end of Septend)er the colors of bill and feet t)ecome 

 lighter, but afterwards they rapiilly go i)ack and bocoine more or less 

 horn-colored. 



'"Xestling. — Forehead and throat brown; u|)p('r ])arts stone-buff, 

 spotted and streaked with bhu-k ; under parts white; feet yellow." 

 (Saunder.s.) 



70. STERNA LONGIPENNIS Xordmann. 



NORDMANN'S TERN. 



Sterna longipennis Xordmanx. in Krman's lleise (1835), 17; S.vrxDERS. 

 Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 25, t>7 ; Bi.axforo, Fauna Brit. Ind. 

 Bds. (1898), 4, 319; Suaki'K, lland-List (1899), 1, 13."); ().\TES, Cat. 

 Birds' Eggs (1901), 1, 185, pi. 14. fig. 4. 



Basilan Straits {Mrtirns). Eastern Sihcria, Kanittliatka, aiul .lapan: in 

 winter Cliina to New (iuinea. 



