244 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
In winter there is no brown hood, the head being white 
mixed with a little brown in front of the eye and behind the 
ear coverts. 
Young birds are mottled brown above, the colour gradually 
changing to the pearl-gray of the adult. The primaries are 
largely brown-black ; the outer third of the tail is of the same 
shade tipped with white. 
In adults the bill, eyelids, and feet are coral-red ; the iris 
varies from white to brownish. 
In young birds the bill is yellowish-red, blackish at the tip ; 
legs and feet reddish-yellow. 
Length about 17; wing about 13; tail 5:25; tarsus 2 ; 
bill from gape 2°25. Females are smaller. 
Distribution. Abundant round the coast in the north of 
the Island from October to April. Rarer in the south, but 
recorded from Galle, Colombo, and Hambantota. Found all 
round the coasts of India and Burma ; also inland on large 
rivers and lakes. Breeds in Central Asia. 
Habits —Occurs generally in flocks, and in Ceylon does not 
appear to fly inland. Its habits are those of the family. 
Sub-family Sternine. 
Terns. 
The Terns are among our most pleasing birds, and the 
commoner species are equally familiar sights round the coast 
or on inland tanks. Their wings are very long and pointed, 
the flight is buoyant and graceful, the birds constantly flying 
over the surface of the water, into which they dip their bills 
while on the wing to scoop up their food, chiefly small fish 
or little floating forms of animal life. They seldom alight 
on the water, and swim far less than many birds whose 
toes are not webbed. The bill is straight, or very gently 
curved, and usually slender, while the mandibles are equal, 
or nearly equal, in length. The legs and feet are generally 
small, 
The Indian members of the sub-family are divided into four 
genera, distinguished, as shown in the key below, chiefly by 
the shape of the tail, the nature of the webbing between the 
