Terns SWIMMING BIRDS. 



A very handsome little Gull, with a darting, skimming 

 flight, resembling that of the common Tern or Sea Swallow. 

 It passes up the Sound in scattering flocks in early spring 

 (Mr. Averill having noted large flocks April 21, 1888), and 

 is frequently seen in the autumn, while individuals appear 

 at intervals during the summer. It feeds upon insects and 

 large beetles, as well as marine food. 



Coinmoii Tern : Sterna hirundo. 



Sea Swallow. 



Plate XV. Fig. 4. 

 Length: 14.50 inches. 

 Male and Female : Bill long, coral-red at base, black toward end and 



tipped with yellow. Upper head and back of neck black. 



Entire back and wings light gray with a bluish wash. Tail 



coverts, most of tail, and wing linings white ; belly and sides 



of breast grayish white ; other lower parts white. Legs and 



feet light red. 

 Season : Summer resident, breeding about the eastern part of Long 



Island Sound. 

 Breeds : From the Arctic coast, somewhat irregularly to Florida and 



Texas. 

 Nest : None ; eggs laid on the sand and indistinguishable from those 



of other species. 

 Bange : Greater part of the Northern Hemisphere. In North America 



chiefly confined to the Eastern Province, and wintering from 



Texas and Florida to southward. 



The characteristics of this Tern are the black cap, coral- 

 red bill, legs, and feet. 



The Terns are not distinctly different from the Gulls, the 

 size of some being identical; but the Terns have a more 

 trig, thoroughbred build, and bear the same relation to the 

 more ponderous Gulls that a yacht does to a trading-craft 

 of equal tonnage. The Terns have long, sharply pointed 

 wings that give them a Swallow-like dash in flying either 

 over the surface of the water when fishing, or above the 

 reed beds when searching for insects, some species being 

 partly insectivorous. This free, angled flight has given this 

 species the name of Sea Swallow. 



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