233 
to have been killed in Britain; and another which 
met the same fate at Proeda, near Magdeburg, is 
the only other specimen, said to have been taken 
in Europe. The Sooty Tern, which is a bird of 
great power of flight, is known to have a very 
wide geographical range, being included among 
the birds of Australia, New Holland, the Island of 
Ascension, the South Sea Islands, and various parts 
of America, where it has been found to breed 
plentifully. It is one of those birds which form 
no nest, but deposit their eggs, three in number, 
ina slight cavity which they scoop in the sand. 
The eggs are of a pale cream colour, sparingly 
marked with various tints of lightish amber and 
lighter marks of purple. 
PERN. WHISKER ED. 
STERNA LEUCOPAREIA, Watt. 
There is only one recorded instance of the cap- 
ture of an individual of this species in England, 
namely, that which was shot by the late Mr. Hey- 
sham, of Carlisle, at Lyme, Dorsetshire, in August, 
1836. No specimen of this bird had previously been 
killed nearer than the coast of Picardy. The Whis- 
kered Tern is rather peculiar in appearance, a 
whisker being formed by a white line which extends 
from the base of the upper bill to the ear, while other 
