LITTLE TERN beets) 
AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 
TOTAL LENGTH ... ae ae OlAroe in: 
WING ae as soon OY ee 
BEAK aoe oe ah oer Gr ee 
TTARSO-METATARSUS Ofer 
Eae Or xe thai 
Allied Species and Representative Forms.—The Eastern 
representative, S. longipennis, has a black bill, small ruddy 
legs and feet, and grey under-plumage (Saunders). 
LITTLE TERN. Sterna minuta (Linneus). 
Coloured Figures.—Gould, ‘Birds of Great Britain.’ vol. v, pl. 
73; Dresser, ‘ Birds of Europe,’ vol. viii, pl. 582; Lilford, 
‘Coloured Figures,’ vol. vi, pl. 10. 
This neat little species—the smallest of the British 
Terns—though common, is not by any means as plentiful as 
either of the two preceding birds. It seldom arrives before 
the beginning of May, taking its departure for more southern 
countries during September and early October. In July 
and August, adults and young may be seen together on the 
wing, generally not far from their breeding-haunts. 
Low-lying and sandy stretches of beach, strewn with 
broken shells and shingle, are its favourite haunts. Large 
flocks are nowhere common, but small parties, pairs, and 
solitary birds are usually met with flitting to and fro in 
quest of food. 
The Little Tern is seldom met with away from the coast. 
Mr. Ussher, in his ‘ Birds of Ireland,’ p. 326, mentions 
that he observed a pair fishing on Lough Corrib, eight miles 
from Galway Bay, in the middle of the breeding-season 
(June 5th, 1897), but he did not find the nest. 
This species does not differ materially in its general habits 
from its larger congeners. 
At ebb-tide, on flat, sandy coasts, I have noticed Little 
Terns fishing in shallow salt-water channels, but a few 
inches deep. As the birds plunged headlong with a splash, 
