WHITE-WINGED MARSH-TERN. 85 
bastard-wing and primary-coverts pale silvery-grey, becoming darker grey on the 
median and greater coverts, the innermost greater series dark slate-grey ; primary- 
quills silvery-grey along the outer webs, inner webs dark brown near the shafts with 
the remainder white; inner primaries almost entirely silvery-grey ; secondaries 
slate-grey, becoming much darker on the innermost feathers ; upper and under 
tail-coverts, as also the tail, white; bill red ; iris brown; feet red. Total length 
221 mm. ; culmen 24, wing 217, tail 73, tarsus 21. 
Adult female in breeding-plumage.—Similar to the adult male, but duller black 
on the back, breast, abodmen, sides of body, and under wing-coverts, the latter 
inclining to white on the greater series ; the tail shows a distinct grey wash, while 
the measurements are distinctly smaller. 
Adult in winter -plumage.—The fore-head, back of the neck, all the under-surface 
and under wing-coverts white ; back of the head and nape dark brown with whitish 
tips ; the feathers of the upper back are dark brownish-grey ; the tips lighter, and 
their bases white ; the back lighter ; the rump and upper tail-coverts light grey ; 
the tail-feathers are grey, the outer whitish on the inner webs ; there is a distinctly 
defined black spot in front of the eye, and the ear-coverts form a dark brown patch ; 
the primaries are all worn dull brown, while the scapulars and median wing-coverts 
retain their grey colour. 
This description is drawn up from one of Gould’s Cape York specimens, and 
agrees very closely with the type of Sterna grisea Horsfield from Java. Another 
bird collected on the voyage of the Rattlesnake, ‘‘ Female, Cape York, Nov. 9th, 
1849,” agrees, but it is not so worn; there are fewer white tips to the back of the 
head feathers, and the two outer tail-feathers are pure white, the rest whitish on 
the inner web. 
Another bird collected by Elsey, “‘ Victoria River, March ’56, Male,” is in the 
same plumage, and has the additional information on the label, ‘‘ Iris blue-black.” 
Adult in change-—The feathers on the lower back are coming blackish ; the 
rump, upper tail-coverts, and the tail are all white, save the fifth pair from the 
outside which are still grey ; the second outside pair and the centre pair are only 
half grown ; about half the scapulars and secondaries are new black-grey feathers ; 
all the primaries are new grey feathers while the outside half of the inner wing- 
coverts are new black feathers ; the inside half and the whole of the under-surface 
are still pure white, while the head and neck coloration is still as in the winter- 
plumage. This description is drawn up from another of Gould’s Cape York specimens. 
Another bird collected by Elsey, ‘‘ Victoria River, March 1856, Female,” is in 
much the same plumage, but the tail contains fewer white feathers ; the head is 
missing, and on the label is noted, ‘‘ Stomach contained grasshoppers.” 
The preceding descriptions taken from specimens procured in Australia may be 
supplemented by accounts of further plumage changes as these may occur. 
A bird from the Andamans, April 16th, 1879, shows a further change than the 
preceding ; the whole of the tail is white ; the whole of the inner wing-coverts are 
black ; the primaries, upper wing-coverts, and secondaries are all completely new 
ones ; the black feathers are beginning to come on the back and under-surface, 
commencing on the belly and lower-breast. 
Immature — Pegu 2 13/10/78, very young and small, E. W. Oates,” is much 
like that which we have described as the winter-plumage, but the head feathers 
are deep brown, while the feathers of the upper back as well as the scapulars have 
dark brown tips ; the upper tail-coverts are white ; the tail-feathers brownish-grey, 
the outer ones lighter. 
Nestling—Like that of preceding species, but generally duller brownish-red ; 
the black markings on the head bolder and larger, the lores white which extends 
round the eye ; there is no black on the fore-head ; throat dusky-brown, white chin 
spot much smaller, no white breast patch, all under-surface dusky pale buff. 
