CASPIAN TERN. 



51 



that now the place is comparatively deserted. In the spring its 

 plumage is so perfect, and its flight so light and graceful, that it 

 attracts notice wherever it appears. In Southern Ontario it is seen 

 only in small numV)ers, the migratory route being mostly along the 

 .sea coast. 



Subfamily STERNINiE Terns. 



Gknis sterna Lixn.eus. 



SuBGEXus THALASSEUS Boie. 



STERNA TSCHEGRAVA Lepecii. 



2.x Caspian Tern. (64) 



Adidt male : — Crown, sides of the head, and hind head, black, glossed with 

 green : Vjack and wings, light bhiish-gray ; the oiitei' primaries, dark bhiish-gray 

 on the inner webs; upper tail coverts and tail grayish-white; neck and lower 

 parts, pure Avhite ; bill, rich vei'milion ; legs and feet, black ; tail, slightly 

 forked. Yoiing : — Mottled and barred with dull brown. Length, 20 inches. 



Hab. — Nearly cosmopolitan; in North America breeding southward to 

 Virginia, Lake Michigan, Nevada and California. 



Eggs, two or three, laid in a hollow in the sand; pale olive buft". marked- 

 with spots of dark Ijrown, and lilac of various shades. 



