70. Sterna hirundo 
COMMON TERN. 15inches 
Adult. Insummer. Above, top of head black ; back light gray; 
tail white. Below, whitish; 6:// red, tipped with black; feet red. 
Adult in fall and winter and Immature. Similar, but top of head 
black mixed with white. Below white; bill black. Also known 
as Mackerel Gull, Sea Swallow and Wilson’s Tern. The most 
abundant of the terns. 7 
Note. “ 7p, kip, tee-arrr.” 
Nest. A frail nest of grass, or a hollow in 
the ground. 
Breeds. On Muskeget and northward, abun- 
dantly on the Maine coast. Common migrant 
along the coast and occasionally on inland 
waters, in May, August and September. 
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