280 A HANDBOOK OF EUROPEAN BIRDS. 
ALLIQD TERN. 
Sterna media ors/. 
Adult (Summer): Crown and nape black; back, rump 
and tail pearl-grey, the outermost rectrices white ; inner webs of 
wing-quills blackish next the shafts and at tips, otherwise white ; 
cheeks, throat and under parts white; bill yellow; legs and 
feet black ; irides brown. Length 13:5 to 16 inches; culmen 
2°2:; Wink 115°5 10 12°5s tagsis a, 
Adult (Winter): Forehead grey; crown white, spotted 
with black, nape black, otherwise as in summer. 
Young: “Resembles the adult in winter, but the wing- 
coverts are marked with sooty-grey, the blackish-grey on the 
quills covers a larger area, and the tail is tipped with blackish- 
grey, the outer rectrices being much shorter than in the adult ” 
(Dresser). 
Distribution: Inhabits the Mediterranean region, the 
Red Sea, and the coasts of Madagascar, ranging eastward 
along the Indian coasts to the Malay Archipelago and Aus- 
tralia. 
Habitat: Closely resembles that of S. cantiaca. Gregari- 
ous. 
CASPIAN TERN. 
Sterna caspia Fal/. 
Adult (Summer): Feathers of forehead, crow and nape 
deep d/ack, those of occiput elongated ; above (from lower neck 
downwards) ashy-grey ; first six primaries darker at tips and on 
inner webs, their shafts white ; beneath white; bill bright red, 
paler towards tip; legs, feet and claws black; indes dark 
brown. Length 19 to 27 inches; culmen 2°8; wing 16°5 ; tail 
OS tarsus 155. 
Adult (Winter): Crown white, streaked with black ; an- 
terior angle of eye and spot behind the ear-coverts black. 
Young in first plumage: “Have the beak of a dull 
red, horn-coloured at the point; the forehead and top of the 
head white ; the upper surface of the body varied with patches 
of ash-brown, and darker transverse bands ; the feathers of the 
