ISATATORES. 401 



" This beautiful bird," says Mr. Macgillivray, " is very local 

 in its breeding-places, the only one known to me being one 

 of the ' three sand-banks ' near Sir Charles Hardy's Islands. 

 The eggs are two in number, deposited in a slight hollow in 

 the sand. I have s^en this bird on another neighbouring 

 sand-bank, also on Solitary Island, near Cape York, and in 

 Endeavour Straits, but was unable to procure a specimen 

 from any of the last-mentioned localities, on account of 

 its excessive shyness. It is one of the most noisy of the 

 Terns, and I generally saw it in small parties of half-a-dozen, 

 or thereabouts. The fully-fledged young of the year differs 

 from the adult in having the black on the head dark brown 

 mottled with white, and the whole of the upper surface and 

 wings variegated with dark brownish grey." 



According to Mr. Jerdon, the range of the Sterna melan- 

 auclien extends throughout the Malayan Peninsula to the 

 Bay of Bengal, and it is said that it breeds on the Nicobar 

 Islands. 



The plumage of the young bird being mixed with blackish 

 brown above shows, says Mr. Blyth, an affinity to the members 

 of the genus Onyclioprion, 



So far as I have been able to ascertain, there appears to be 

 no outward difference in the sexes ; I have never seen ex- 

 amples in any other than the adult plumage here represented ; 

 but, judging from analogy, we may reasonably infer that this 

 species undergoes changes similar to those of the other mem- 

 bers of the family, and consequently that at some seasons of 

 the year the black mark at the occiput is far less brilliant 

 than at others. 



Crown of the head, neck, and under surface white, with a 

 faint tinge of rose-colour on the breast ; lores and a gorget- 

 shaped mark commencing immediately behind the eye and 

 spreading over the nape black ; upper surface, wings, and 

 tail delicate silvery grey, with white shafts ; outer web of the 

 external primary black ; bill black ; feet brownish black. 



VOL. II. 2 D 



