LARID.Fj. 67 



of Gould) is identically the same, this bird has a most extensive range. Mr, Sannders 

 says : — From Western Europe to the China seas, throughout India, Ceylon, and the Malay 

 region down to Australia, and along the East Coast of America as far as Patagonia ; on 

 the Pacific side it has only been observed in Guatemala." 



This Tern has occasionally been met with in Great Britain. It appears to have 

 been originally confounded with the Sandwich Tern, but first pronounced a distinct species 

 by Montagu, who named it S. anglica, not knowing it existed elsewhere. 



It is thus described by Yarrell, 'British Birds' (vol. iii. p. 409): — "In the adult in 

 summer the bill is black, and one inch and a quarter in length from the point to the 

 feathers on the forehead ; the angle at the symphisis of the lower mandible rather prominent ; 

 irides reddish brown ; forehead, crown, and nape jet-black ; neck behind greyish white ; 

 back, scapulars, wings, the coverts, secondaries and tertials, upper tail-coverts and 

 tail-feathers uniform pale ash-grey ; the outside web of the first primary slate-grey, the 

 other primaries pearl-grey ; chin, throat, breast, and all the under surface white ; legs, 

 toes, membranes, and claws black. The whole length of the bird figured from and described, 

 fifteen inches and a half; wing from the wrist, thirteen inches." In winter the head 

 is white. 



The Sooty Tern {Sterna fuliginosa). — There are several varieties of Sooty Terns, but 

 this bird and Sterna anmstheta are the only two we should come across on an Australian 

 voyage. These two are very much alike ; but Mr. Howard Saunders explains to us, in his 

 article on the Sternince, that they may always be recognised, amongst other distinctions, by 

 their different feet. The Sooty Tern [S. fitliginosa) is a wonderful flyer, and has about the 

 largest geographical range of all the Terns. It has been shot in England, and is very 

 plentiful round Australia. The Island of Ascension is one of its great head-quarters. 

 There they assemble in thousands, and are called "wide-awakes." Wilson says, in Capt. 

 Cooke's voyage, it has been seen 100 leagues from shore. Thus in many parts of an 

 Australian voyage it is almost certain to be met with. 



Gould thus describes it (under the name of .S'. seirata) in ' Birds of Australia ' (vol. ii. 

 p. 408): — "This common species appears to be very generally distributed on the seas 

 surrounding Australia, but to be less numerous on the southern than on the western, 

 northern, and eastern coasts. It is now supposed to be the same species which frequents 

 the shores of the countries washed by the Atlantic, both north and south, and that examples 

 from North America and Australia are not different ; if this be the case, no bird of its 

 family enjoys so wide a range over the globe. Tlie colouring of the species is as follows : — 



s 



