3^ llovd's Natural history. 



Eg-g-s. — Ground-colour varying from whitish stone-colour to 

 clay-brown, the markings being reddish-brown or black, and 

 varying in character from small spots, streaks, and lines or 

 scratches, to larger spots or small blotches, never confluent, 

 and equally distributed over the surface of the egg ; the under- 

 lying spots of purplish-grey distinctly indicated, but seldom 

 equalHng the overlying markings in prominence. Axis, 175- 

 1-95 inch; diam. 1-25-1 -35. 



VI. THE SOOTY TERN. STERNA FULIGINOSA. 



Sterna fuliginos a, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 605 (17S8) ; Dresser, 

 B. Eur. viii. p. 307, pi. 587 (1877); B. O. U. List Brit. B. 

 p. 183 (1883); Saunders, ed. Yarrell's Brit. B. iii. p. 562 

 (1884); Seebohm, Hist. Brit. B. iii. p. 292 (1885); 

 Saunders, Man. Brit. B. p. 637 (1889) ; id. Cat. B. Brit. 

 Mus. XXV. p. 106 (1896). 



Adult Male. — Similar to S. ancestheta, but more uniformly 

 sooty-black above, the light mantle not being emphasized, and 

 thus the black crown is scarcely darker than the remainder of 

 the upper surface ; the quills blackish, wdth a dark ashy 

 " wedge " on the inner web of the primaries, not white as in 

 S. ancEstheta ; " bill and feet black, with a slightly reddish tinge " 

 {Saundei's). Total length, 14*5 inches; culmen, 165; wing, 

 ii'o; tail, 5-8; tarsus, 0-85. 



Adult Female. — Similar to the male. Total length, 15-5 inches; 

 wing, 1 1 -6. 



Adult in Winter Plumag-e, — Only distinguishable from the 

 summer plumage by having white flecks on the lores and 

 crown {Saimders). 



Nestling. — Mottled above with dusky-blackish and sandy- 

 buff, intermixed with a good deal of white on the back and 

 rump ; under surface of body whitish, the cheeks and sides of 

 the face like the back. As the young bird increases in size, 

 the down is replaced by blackish feathers which have sandy- 

 rufous or white tips, those on the scapular-plumes being con- 

 spicuously white. The under surface of the body is white, 

 but the sides of the face are like the crown and are similarly 

 mottled. 



