208 LARID^E. 
than the more conspicuous white adults with tlieir black pri- 
maries. The earliest dates on which I observed this species 
near Gibraltar were on the 11th of November, 1870, and the 
12tli of October, 1871, the latest being on the 28th of March, 
1870, and the 22nd of March, 1871, and the 28th of March, 
1872. I noticed many on the last date; but that spring was 
remarkable for the late stay of several northern-breeding 
species. 
Family Larid^. 
Subfam. Sternin.*;. 
296. Sterna caspia. Pall. The Caspian Tern. 
Spanish for all Terns, Golondrina de mar. 
This large Tern is stated by Favier to be " very rare near 
Tangier," he having only obtained a single specimen (in 
February 1844), which occurrence I can supplement by one 
which occurred in the winter of 1869. 
On the Spanish coast I did not meet with it; and indeed 
it is only an accidental straggler so far west. 
The large size of this Tern, the red bill, and black legs and 
feet sufficiently distinguish it. 
The total length is from 19 to 21 inches, the males, as in 
the other Terns, being the largest. 
297. Sterna anglica, Montagu. The Gull-billed Tern. 
Strangely enough, no mention is made of this Tern in 
Favier's MS.; but I found it in great numbers about the lakes 
of Ras Dowra towards the end of April. As far as I could 
ascertain from the Arabs, they said that these birds remained 
in the neighbourhood and bred a little later on in the season. 
Essentially a freshw ater or marsh-frequenting species, I never 
noticed the Gull-billed Tern on the sea-coast. Some of those 
I shot had been feeding on green frogs; their note, loud and 
frequently repeated, is (as near as I can render it) kuh-wiik, 
kuk-wuk. I never noticed the present species about Gibraltar ; 
but it occurs in the marshes of the Guadalquivir towards San 
Lucar, and no doubt breeds somewhere there ; but I failed to 
find this out mvself. 
