430 Mr. R. Swinhoc on Formosnn Ornitholopj. 



the winter plumage the black on the crown and lores fades away, 

 leaving only a nuchal band from one eye round the hind neck 

 to the other eye. 



When I visited the rocky coast of E. Formosa in 1857, I 

 noticed vast numbers of these birds breeding on the precipitous 

 sides of the cliffs. At that time 1 wrongly mistook this for the 

 Lesser Tern, which is a bird of more northerly climes, that seeks 

 our shores only in winter. 



Since my arrival in England, I have received specimens of 

 this bird from Hankow (Central China). One of the skins is 

 that of a very young bird, and proves that the species breeds also 

 in that locality. 



177. Sternula minuta (L.). 



A winter visitant to the shores of Formosa. 



178. Sterna cristata, Steph. 

 S. pelicanoides, King. 



S. velox, Riippell. 



A large colony of this widely distributed Tern has bred for 

 years on a small island, called Kelung Island, three miles to 

 seaward of the north harbour of Kelung. When at Kelung, in 

 H. M. S. 'Inflexible,^ in 1857, large numbers of their eggs were 

 brought to us by fishermen. They were not bad eating. These 

 eggs varied a good deal in colour and markings ; but Baron R. 

 K. von Warthausen's able description and figure in the 'Ibis' 

 (1860, p. 127), of some procured in the Red Sea, leave me little 

 to say about them. This bird is common all the year on the 

 north coast, uttering loud hoarse screams as it flaps past. 



179. Sterna caspia. Lath. 



A few visit the coast from the northern latitudes in winter, 

 after severe north-easterly winds. 



180. Angus stolidus, L. 



In the harbour of Sawo, on the N.E. side of Formosa, a few 

 of these Terns were breeding on the cliffs. One flew into our 

 boat, and was knocked down by a sailor. Another was brought 

 to me alive. In our voyage round the island, I frequently saw 

 parties of them crossing and recrossing our wake, evidently 

 searching for food in the troubled water that the steamer^s pad- 



