630 ROSEATE TERy. 



ladies' hats, has doubtless affected the Roseate to a slight degree. 

 It must, however, be remembered that this species only arrives 

 towards the end of May, and leaves much sooner than the other 

 Terns — -as soon as ever its young can fly ; in fact, I do not remember 

 to have seen more than two or three immature birds killed within 

 our four seas, though adults are occasionally obtained on migration. 



The Roseate Tern is an oceanic and southern species, and is not 

 known beyond 57° N. lat., being merely a straggler to the coasts of 

 the North Sea. It has several colonies on the west side of France, 

 and a few examples have been obtained in the Mediterranean; while 

 we trace it to the Azores, and across the Atlantic — by way of the 

 Bermudas — to America. There it is found breeding along the east 

 coast from New England to Honduras, and throughout the West 

 Indies, though it has not yet been obtained on the Pacific sea-board. 

 It has been recorded in error from the south-west of Africa, but I 

 have specimens in full breeding-plumage from Cape Colony and 

 Natal ; while by way of Madagascar we trace it through the Indian 

 Ocean to Ceylon and the Andaman Islands, in both of which it 

 nests, as it also does in Northern Australia and in the New Caledonia 

 group. 



The eggs, 2-3 in number, are laid on the ground, and vary from 

 creamy-white to buffish-brown in colour, blotched and clouded with 

 bluish-grey and rich brown ; they are as a rule somewhat more 

 elongated than those of the Arctic Tern, and measure about I'j by 

 I "15 in. The food consists of fish obtained from the sea, which 

 this species almost exclusively affects, seldom even visiting a salt 

 lagoon. In flight, except when the bird is turning or hovering, the 

 two long tail-feathers are carried close together. The note is a 

 rather peculiar harsh crait'. 



The Roseate Tern owes its name to the beautiful though evanes- 

 cent pink tinge on its under parts ; the mantle is of a paler grey 

 than in the Arctic or Common Terns, and — except in old birds — 

 this grey extends to the tail-feathers ; in the primaries the 7C'/n'/e inner 

 margins are ii>eU defined to the very tips arid even a little way up ihe 

 outer ivebs : more so than in the much larger Sandwich Tern. 

 This is an infallible distinction for young as well as old birds ; 

 another characteristic is the comparative shortness of the wing. 

 Early in the breeding-season the bill is orange at the base, but soon 

 becomes chiefly or wholly black ; the legs and feet are red. In 

 winter the forehead is nearly white. Length i5'5 in., wing 9 in. 



