CASPIAN TERN. 

 gannet striker. 



Sterna tschegrava. 



Char. Mantle pale pearl gray ; tail and wings silvery ; crown and 

 nape black; under parts white ; bill red, tipped with black ; legs and feet 

 black. In winter the black cap is streaked with white. In immature 

 birds the upper parts are light gray mottled with brownish gray ; bill 

 yellowish brown; legs and feet brown. The largest of the Terns. Length 

 21 inches or more. 



Nest. A slight hollow in the sand, sometimes lined with a little grass 

 or sea-weed. 



Eggs. 2-3 ; buff of various shades, sometimes tinged with olive, 

 marked with brown and lavender ; average size 2.60 X 1.75. 



This Tern received its name from Pallas, who discovered it on the 

 shores of the Caspian Sea. It was first described in 1 770, but was 

 not known to the earlier American naturalists, Baird's work of 

 1858 being the first in which its name appears. 



It is not abundant in this country, or indeed in any country ex- 

 cepting in a few localities, though cosmopolitan in its distribution 



