Descriptive List 33 



A pair of these exceedingly rare birds was reported by Warden N. F. Jennett to 

 have reared young on Miller Lump, a small island in Dare County, during the 

 summer of 1909. On June 26, 1909, Bowdish identified one at this place. So far 

 as known, the only other breeding place of these birds along the Atlantic coast of 

 the United States at this time is near Cobb's Island, Virginia. This species is 

 said to be very partial to insects and catches large numbers of them while flying. 



Genus Sterna (Linn.) 



KEY TO SPECIES 



1. Wing more than 12.00; mantle pearl-gray. See 2. 



1. Wing less than 12.00. See 4. 



2. Tail much les,s than half as long as wing, forked for less than one-fifth its total length; head 



not crested. Caspian Tern. 



2. Tail more than half as long as wing, forked for at least half its length; head crested. See 3. 



3. Bill deep orange or red. L., 18.00 to 21.00. Royal Tern. 



3. Bill deep black, usually pale at tip. L., 14.00 to 16.00. Cabot's Tern. 



4. Wing less than 7.00; tail about haK as long as wing, forked for about half its length; mantle 



pearl-gray. Least Tern. 



4. Wing more than 9.00. See 5. 



.5. Mantle and middle tail-feathers slaty or blackish; inner webs of wing-quills entirely dusky. 

 Sooty Tern. 



5. Mantle bluish gray; tail chiefly white. See 6. 



6. Both webs of outer tail-feathers entirely white. Roseate Tern. 



6. Outer web of outer tail-feather entirely white; inner web grayish or dusky toward end. 

 For.'ilcr's Tern. 



6. Inner web of outer tail-feather entirely white; the outer web dusky in sharp contrast. 



See 7. 



7. Bill and feet red. Aretic Tern. 



7. Bill red, blackish at tip; feet orange. Common Tern. 



All the above species occur in our State, except the Arctic tern, Sterna paradisea 

 Briinn., a slightly smaller bird than the common tern, and with a proportionately 

 longer tail. It breeds on the Atlantic coast from Maine northward, and winters in 

 the Antarctic ocean; hence there is a possibility of seeing it at any intermediate 

 point. 



17. Sterna caspia (Pallas). Caspian Tern. 



Ads. in spring. — Top and back of head shining black, the feathers not lengthened to form 

 a crest; back of neck, underparts, and tail white; back and wings pearl-gray; primaries dark 

 slaty, silvery on the outer web; bill coral-red, darker near the tip; feet black. Ads. after the 

 breeding season and in winter. — Similar to the above, but top of the head streaked witli black. 

 Im. — Top of head streaked with black and white; back of neck and underparts wliite; back, 

 wing-coverts, and tertials pearl-gray, spotted or barred with brownish black; primaries dark 

 slaty, silverv on the outer web; tail peail-grav, more or less barred with brownish black; bill 

 orange-red; "feet blackish brown. L., 21.00; W., 16.20; T., 6.00; B., 2.80. (Chap., Birds of 

 E. N. A.) 



Range. — Nearly cosmopolitan, coastwise, and in certain places inland. 



Range in North Carolina. — Coastal region; not common. 



This, the largest of the terns, is entitled to a place in this book on the authority 

 of Bishop, who has received specimens taken in Dare County in the years 1904, 

 1906, and 1907, on dates ranging from April 1.5 to May 5 in the spring, and from 

 July 22 to September 7 in the fall. Judging alone from these records, it would 

 seem that the Caspian Tern is with us a migrant only, but as it is known to breed 



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