Descriptive List of the Common Birds 



comes dark grey, so that at this season the 

 whiskered tern is Hable to be confounded with 

 the black-belUed tern (204). The tail, however, 

 of the whiskered species is not so deeply forked. 

 Very common in N. India. An inland bird 

 found on marshes, rivers, tanks, and paddy fields. 



201. Hydrofrogne caspia : The Caspian Tern. 

 (F. 1498), (J. 982), ( + IV.) 



This is the largest of the terns. It is a white 

 bird save for the fact that there is a good deal 

 of black in the head. Its wings are pearl grey. 

 Its bill is bright red. Its legs are black. Its tail 

 is not very deeply forked. It goes about in 

 pairs. It is local in its distribution. 



It is common at Madras, and it is said to be 

 particularly common in Sind. I have never 

 seen it in the Punjab. Eha does not mention 

 it as one of the birds of Bombay. 



202. Sterna angelica : The Gull-billed Tern. 

 (F. 1499), (J. 983), ( + III, with a longish tail.) 



Printer's devils are particularly spiteful to 

 this bird. In l^he Common Birds of Bombay 

 they have mutilated its name into " gull- 

 gilled." In Bombay Ducks it appears as the 

 " gull-bird tern." 



It is the least beautiful of the terns, being 

 more heavily built than most of them. 

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