ROSEATE TERN 389 
Voice.-—The voice is harsh, and the alarm-note resembles 
an angry krake-krake. 
Nest.—In some localities this species will associate with 
colonies of Arctic and Common ‘Terns, breeding on rocky 
islands, and sandy shores strewn with shingle, seaweeds, and 
fragments of bent. The eggs, two to three in number, are 
generally deposited in a slight hollow scooped in the shingle. 
They show much variation in colour, from yellowish-white 
to warm buff, blotched with shades of grey and brown. 
‘hey are on an average longer in shape than those of the 
Arctic Tern. 
Geographical distribution.—Abroad, the Roseate Tern 
nests sparingly in Central Europe, and more plentifully in 
the South, in Asia as far as the Tropics, in Africa, especially 
in the Northern Section, and in America to the latitude of 
the West Indies. On migration it 1s widely distributed 
over the Tropical and Southern Seas. 
DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 
PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial.—Top of head and back 
of neck, black ; rest of neck and throat, white ; back, scapu- 
lars, and wings, pale ‘pearl’ or ‘french’ grey, darker in 
shade than in the last species ; primaries, ‘ pearl’ grey, of a 
darker shade than the rest of the wing-feathers; white on 
the inner margins of primaries, well defined and extending 
to the tips and even a short distance along the outer web; 
rump and tail-feathers, very pale ‘ pearl’ grey shading to 
white; outer webs of long outer tail-feathers, pure white ; 
fork of tail of considerable length; breast and abdomen, 
white, suffused with an evanescent delicate ‘ salmon’ pink. 
Adult female nuptial.—Similar to the male plumage, 
but the outer tail-feathers (streamers) are a little shorter. 
Adult winter, male and female.—The forehead is spotted 
with white, and the pink tint of the breast and the abdomen 
is very faint. 
Immature, male and female.—Forehead streaked with 
white ; top of head and back of neck, brownish-black ; back 
and wings, marked with ash-brown. 
Brak. Almost entirely black except in the breeding- 
season, when it exhibits an orange colour at the base. 
FEET. Orange-red. 
Ir1DEs. Blackish-brown. 
