636 LITTLE TERN. 



islands and sand-banks — that it may be said to extend across the 

 Continent to the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas ; while 

 it also frequents the Atlantic coast. It breeds in Lower Egypt 

 and, perhaps, in the Red Sea, and in winter descends the west 

 side of Africa to Cape Colony. Along the Asian plateau it can be 

 traced to Central India, but in Ceylon, China, and the eastern 

 region generally it is represented by S. si/iensis, which is rather 

 larger and has -iv/iiie shafts to all its primaries. In North America 

 we find S. antillariini, with dark shafis — as in our bird — -but with a 

 grey rump and very little black at the tip of the bill ; while on the 

 east side of South America, ascending the great rivers for thousands 

 of miles, 6'. superciliaris — with stout and wholly yellow bill — is the 

 representative species. All these, and some other small Terns with 

 white foreheads, have been placed by many systematists in the genus 

 Stermila. 



The eggs, usually 2 though often 3 in number, are stone-colour 

 — occasionally with a bluish tinge — spotted with ash-grey and dark 

 brown : their average measurements are i'35 by -95 in., and they 

 are laid on the bare shingle or soil towards the end of May or early 

 in June. Far from showing fear when its haunts are approached, the 

 bird advances with rapid beats of its long pinions, uttering a pecu- 

 liarly sharp pirrc, and will frequently settle on its nest. It feeds on 

 small surface-swimming fish and their fry, as well as shrimps and 

 similar crustaceans ; and, like other Terns, it may often be seen 

 swimming or resting on the water. 



The adult in summer has the bill orange-yellow tipped with 

 black ; forehead white, loral stripe, crown and nape black ; mantle 

 pearl-grey ; wing-feathers grey, with white margins to the inner webs, 

 and with dark shafts to the two outer quills, which are, moreover, 

 ash-grey ; tail and entire under parts white ; legs and feet orange. 

 Length 9 in., wing 675 in. In winter the black on the head is 

 duller in colour. The young bird (figured in the background) has 

 the bill dark brown at the tip, paler at the base ; forehead, crown 

 and nape tinged with buff and streaked with blackish-brown ; mantle 

 dull grey, tinged with buff and mottled with umber ; tail-feathers 

 greyish-white, slightly freckled with brown near the tips. The black 

 loral streak is not well defined until after the second moult, up to 

 which a dark line on the carpal joint with a grey tinge on the rump 

 and tail-feathers remain to indicate immaturity ; breeding takes 

 place the following spring. 



