STERNA ANGLICA. 293 
these waters in the splendid sunshine of an Andalucian May, and to watch the 
birds; of these the most abundant were the Whiskered and the Black Terr, 
whose nests were on the water amongst thick masses of a white-flowered 
weed, or on the rubbish left on the banks by the subsidence of winter floods. 
Here were also at the time of our visits many Grebes of three species, their 
nests interspersed with those of the Terns on the tangle of weed that covered 
considerable portions of the water-surface....the Terns disturbed at our 
appearance rose in a cloud, and dashed about us with great clamour till we 
had satisfied our greed by taking some of their eggs by riding into the water 
and ladling them out of the nests; but they took very little notice of our 
presence as we sat about the margin of the tarns after this operation, and 
many of them settled finally down upon their eggs within a few yards of us, 
whilst others hawked about unconcernedly after flying insects, or dipped for the 
leeches and water-beetles that swarmed amongst the weeds.” | 
STERNA ANGLICA, Montagu. 
GULL-BILLED TERN. 
§ 4391. One.——New Jersey, 1849. “H.B.T.” From Mr. 
Tristram, 1854. 
§ 4392. Four—Thye, Nord Jylland, 1857. From Dr. Kjer- 
bolling. 
These were said by Dr. Kjerbolling to be Sterna anglica, and 
some of them to have been taken, as all were procured, by himself 
this past summer. I received them of him 6th October, at Copen- 
hagen. He said they were on a little holm—the nest made of 
grass-straw, and of considerable size, while S. cantiaca breeding in 
the same place made little or no nest. He observed that the Gull- 
billed Tern pounced upon insects on the cows’ backs. He shot two 
of the Terns. I observe that two eggs from Algeria, placed in my 
keeping by Mr. Osbert Salvin and believed by him and those with 
him to belong to S. anglica, are something like very small eggs of 
S. cantiaca, and so differ considerably from these eggs of Dr, Kjzer- 
bélling’s, which are nearly as large as those of S. cantiaca, but in 
colour and markings like Common Tern’s. As an illustration of the 
Doctor’s defective accuracy, I may observe that one of the eggs of 
S. cantiaca [§ 4495] I had from him has that name written on one 
side and S. anglica on the other, both by himself. 
