574 LARID.E. 



THE NODDY TERX. 



STERNA STOLIDA. 



Bill and legs black; crown buff; back of the head smoke-grey ; general plumage 

 browaiish black. Length fifteen inches. Eggs reddish j'ellou-, spotted and 

 blotched with dull red and faint purple. 



*' XoDDY " is a name, as my readers are probably aware, 

 given to a species of Tern, wbich, in tro]3ical regions, 

 frequently alights on the rigging of vessels, and there 

 falling asleep, suffers itself to be caught by the sailors. 

 It has little claim to be classed among British birds, 

 inasmuch as a few specimens only have been observed in 

 St. George's Channel, and two have been shot off the 

 coast of Wexford. For a description of its habits the 

 reader is referred to Audubon, and books of voyages in 

 equatorial regions. 



THE SOOTY TERN. 



STERNA FULIGINOSA. 



Bill black, slightly curved downwards ; forehead wliite ; the rest of the head, and 

 upper plumage generally, sooty black ; under plumage Avhite ; tail deeply 

 forked, each outside feather white on the outer web ; feet black. Length 

 fourteen and a half inches. Eggs pale cream coloui'ed, variously mottled with 

 amber and pale jturple. 



Of the Sooty Tern a single specimen only has been ob- 

 tained in Great Britain. It is a bird of very Avide geogra- 

 phical range, having been observed in the neighbourhood 

 of Cuba, Florida, Bermuda, Ascension Island, Christmas 

 Island, and Australia. It is said to breed in the same 

 localities with the Noddy Tern, and is described as being 

 of a peculiarly mild and sociable disposition. 



