356 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



shoulders white ; remainder of upper plumage pearl-grey ; primaries with 

 dack grey running along the shafts ; uuderparts white. 



Iris dark brown ; bill black and yellow at the tip ; feet black. 



Total length 15 inches, wing ll'SO, culmen 2-25, tarsus I-IO. 



Adult female similar to the male. 



In winter the forehead is white, and the crown and nape white, striped 

 with black. 



The Sandwich Tern is resident and abundant in Tunisia, parti- 

 cularly during the spring passage, when large flocks of the species 

 may often be observed on the coasts of the Eegency. In winter it is 

 not uncommon in the neighbourhood of Bizerta, Porto Farina, Tunis, 

 and other seaport towns, and probably occurs at that season all along 

 the east coast as far as Tripoli, from the shores of which the species 

 is also recorded. 



In summer it is to be found on the islands o£f the south-east coast 

 of the Regency, where it breeds. 



According to Loche the species is abundant on the Algerian coasts, 

 but rarely strays inland. Favier says it is plentiful near Tangier 

 from November to February, and it breeds on the Canary Islands. 



The range of the Sandwich Tern extends throughout the temperate 

 portion of Europe, the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas, the 

 Arabian and Persian coasts, as far east as Sind. In North Europe 

 it is not common, though it nests on some of the coasts and islands 

 of the North Sea. It occurs throughout North Africa, and down 

 the west coast of that continent to Cape Colony, being also found 

 at Natal. In America it is found along the Atlantic coasts, down to 

 the AVest Indies and Brazil, and has also occurred on both sides of 

 Guatemala. 



The present species is essentially marine in its tastes and habits, 

 and is seldom to be found far from the sea, though it has occasionally 

 been known to breed on inland fresh-water lakes. It lives, as a rule, 

 in large companies and, like other Terns, is very sociable. Its flight 

 is swift and powerful, and its cry rather harsh and grating, being 

 fairly rendered by the syllables " kirhitt, kirhitt." It feeds chiefly 

 on small fish. 



It breeds in colonies, and places its eggs, two or three in number, 

 in a slight hollow in the sand, though in some countries it is said to 

 make a rough nest of bents or other similar material. The colour of 

 the eggs varies from brownish-buff to creamy-white, with grey shell- 



