LARIDE—TERNS. 283 
ARC LIC ‘TERN, 
Sterna macrura /Vaum. 
Adult: In general colour and changes of plumage very 
similar to .S. fluviatilis, but may be distinguished by the prima 
ries having a xarrow dusky-grey band on inner webs next the 
shaft, no broader than the outer web ; tarsi much shorter than 
in S. fuviatilis and bill uniform coral-red. Length 15 inches ; 
culmen 1°25; wing 11; tail 7°25; 7arsus 0-5. 
Distribution: Breeds in the Circumpolar regions, rang- 
ing southward in autumn along the Atlantic coasts to Southern 
Africa. 
Habitat: The sea-coast, rarely appearing far inland. 
LESSER TERN. 
Sterna minuta Zznn. 
Adult (Summer): Forehead white; crown and nape 
black ; back and wings grey ; two outermost primaries dusky, 
broadly margined with white on inner webs ; plumage otherwise 
white ; bill yellowish-orange, tipped with black; irides dark 
brown ; legs and feet orange. Length 8°25 to Qinches ; culmen 
I‘I5 ; wing 7; tail 3; tarsus 0°6, 
Adult (Winter): Black on head duller, in other respects 
similar to summer plumage. 
Young: Forehead greyish-white ; crown varied with brown ; 
round the eyes and nape black, the latter mottled with white ; 
feathers of back and scapulars grey, margined conspicuously 
with dark brown; primaries white-tipped; bill dark brown, — 
paler at base beneath. 
Distribution : Summer visitant to and breeding on 
European coasts and many rivers south of the Baltic, also on 
the Caspian, in Lower Egypt, India, and eastward to For- 
mosa. Found in winter along the Western African coast. 
Habitat : Low, flat marine islets or shingly beaches. 
