168 NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



elegant of the family. It is distributed throughout the whole of North 

 America, both coastwise and in the interior. During the migrations it is 

 especially abundant along the Atlantic coast. Breeds mostly north of the 

 United States. The nest is described as placed on the ground or on rocky 

 cliffs, made of sea-weeds, etc. 



677. Sabine's Gull — xema s.a.binei. Deep greenish-brown, obscurely 

 spotted and blotched with darker shades of the same ; they very closely 

 resemble those of the Willet or Curlew; usually three, size 1.75 by 1.25, 

 The Fork-tailed Gull breeds in the Arctic regions, where it is said to nest 

 like the Terns, depositing the eggs on the ground in sandy places. 



Hab. Arctic regions; in North America south in winter to New York, the Great Lakes, and Great Salt 

 Lake; casual south to Peru. 



679. Gull-billed Tern — sterna anglica. Varying from yellowish-buff 

 to greenish, spotted and blotched with yellowish-brown and lilac, especially 

 about the larger end, but like the eggs of all the terns are very variable; 

 usually three in number. The late Snowdon Rowland wrote me that he 

 had authentic sets of four and five. Size about 1.75 by 1.30. The Marsh 

 Tern's distribution is nearl)' cosmopolitan. In the United States it breeds 

 from New Jersey southward. It is not a common bird, and it is not a 

 beach-nester, depositing the eggs on the broken-down reeds or grasses 

 in marshes. Nesting like that of the Black Tern. 



Hab Nearly cosmopolitan; in North America chiefly along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United 

 States. 



680. Caspian Tern — sterna caspia. Varying from white to greenish- 

 buff, spotted and blotched with brown and lilac of different shades ; broader 

 and more elliptical than those of the next species; two in number; size 

 from 2.65 to 2.75 long by 1.80 to 1.90 broad. The eggs are laid in a 

 hollow scooped in dry sand, without any nest. Breeding commonly in single 

 or few pairs. The distribution of the Imperial Tern, as it is called, is 

 nearly cosmopolitan. In North America irregularly distributed, chiefly 

 in the Arctic regions, where it breeds, and along the whole Atlantic coast. 

 Known to breed southward as far as Virginia, Lake Michigan, Texas, 

 Nevada and California. 



681. Royal Tern — sterna regia. Varying from white to greenish- 

 buff, spotted and blotched with brown, umber, and lilac of varying shades, 

 with an occasional tinge of yellow, rather pyriform ; size from 2.70 to 2.75 

 long by 1.70 to 1.75. This fine Tern, next in size to the Caspian, breeds 

 in large colonies along the Atlantic coast from New Jersey southward, de- 

 positing two eggs on the sand. 



Hab. Tropical America and warmer parts of North America northward to Massachusetts, the Great 

 Lakes and California. West coast of Africa north to Tangiers. 



