^yHISKERED TERN. 405 



This species has not previously been killed nearer than the 

 coast of Picardy, where M. Teraminck states that M. Jules 

 de la Motte, of Abbeville, once saw several examples in a 

 marsh ; he killed three ; and M. Vieillot includes this Tern 

 in consequence among the Birds of France. 



But little is known of the habits of this Tern. It was 

 first discovered in the southern part of Hungary, by M. Nat- 

 terer, of Vienna. M. Brehm includes it in his Birds of Ger- 

 many. M. Temminck mentions that he has met with this 

 species in the marshes of Capo dTstria, and on the coast of 

 Dalmatia ; it has been found also in Syria and in Egypt. 

 M. Temminck further states that specimens received from 

 Borneo do not differ in any respect from those obtained in 

 Europe. M. Savi includes this Tern in his Ornithology of 

 Italy, but considers it a very rare species, of which only three 

 examples had been obtained. 



It is said to feed on winged insects and aquatic worms ; 

 but its mode of nesting and its eggs are, I believe, as yet 

 unknown. 



In the specimen killed on the Dorsetshire coast, and now 

 before me, the bill is red, inclining to dark brown on the 

 edges of both mandibles towards the point ; the bill rather 

 stout, Avith the inferior angle of the under mandible promi- 

 nent, an approximation to the form of the under mandible in 

 the Gull-billed Tern, next to be described. The irides 

 brownish-black ; forehead, crown, and nape black ; from the 

 base of the upper mandible, in a line below the eye to the 

 ear-coverts a stripe of white, forming the w'hiskcr or mous- 

 tache ; back, wing-coverts, upper tail-coverts, and tail-fea- 

 thers uniform dark grey, almost slate-grey ; first quill-feather 

 lead-grey on the outer web, and over a considerable portion 

 of that part of the inner web nearest to the white shaft, the 

 other part of the inner web white ; the outer webs of, the 

 other primary and secondary feathers lighter grey than the 



