g4 OCEAN BIEDS. 



Sandwich Teen {Sterna Boijsii).— Another British Tern, and fairly common all round 

 our shores in the autumn. I have frequently seen them along the coast of the Firth of 

 Forth. Dresser says :—" Like most of the sea-hirds, the present species of Tern has a 

 very extensive range, being found in Europe, Africa as far south as the Cape of Good 

 Hope, and America as far south as Brazil." 



Under the name of S. cantiaca, Mr. H. Saunders says that the range of this species 

 is from Northern Europe to the Cape of Good Hope and Bay of Bengal in winter; and 

 along the Atlantic coast of North America to the West Indian Islands, Honduras, and 

 Brazil, as far as Bahia. 



It is thus described by Yarrell, 'British Birds' (vol. iii. p. 391) : -" The adult bird 

 in summer has the bill black, the tip yellowish white ; the irides hazel ; all the parts 

 of the head above the eyes black ; the feathers on the occiput elongated, forming a loose 

 plume which ends in a point ; cheeks, sides, and bottom of the neck behind white ; back 

 and wings ash-grey, the ends of the tertials almost white ; the longest primary slate-grey, 

 with a strong and broad white shaft ; the next two or three primaries each a little lighter 

 in colour than the first, and diminishing in colour in succession till they become of the 

 same tint as the wing-coverts; the tail white and forked; chin, throat, neck in front, 

 and all the under surface of the body pure white ; legs, toes, and their membranes black, 

 claws curved and black. The whole length of the bird, from the point of the beak to 

 the end of the longest quill-feather, eleven inches; the first quill-feather the longest iu 

 the wing. Adult birds in winter have the head white." 



The Roseate Tern {Sterna dougalli). — This lovely Tern is fast disappearing from our 

 coasts, and there are only two or three localities where it now breeds ; perhaps the principal 

 of them is the Fern Islands, off the coast of Northumberland. Mr. H. Saunders says : — 

 " Apart from its light and elegant shape, and its proportionately short wings, this species 

 may always be recognised by the white inner margins of the primaries, extending quite 

 round the tips of the feathers as far as the outer webs ; the rump and tail-feathers are washed 

 with grey. The coloration of the bill varies considerably with age and seasons ; in some 

 specimens it is black almost to the base, while in others the red or orange extends far 

 in front of the angle." 



Mr. Howard Saunders says the Graceful Tern {S. (jraciUs) of Gould is merely a 

 form of S. dowjalli, with more red than usual in its bill. Amongst other places, this 

 bird is to be found along the Mediterranean, in Ceylon, off the Cape of Good Hope, 

 and along the West Coast of Australia. 



