248 SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE. 



labour of egg-hunting on this stony desert, for it is 

 generally a tedious process as I know by experi- 

 ence requiring much patience and long practice, 

 so nearly do the eggs, both in colour and form, 

 resemble the surrounding flints and pebbles. 



ARCTIC TERN, Sterna arctica. Is decidedly 

 more numerous on Pevensey Shingle during May 

 and June than the last species. In fact, this bird 

 is here " the common tern," and would appear to 

 be more generally distributed throughout the Bri- 

 tish Islands than any of its congeners. In May, 

 1842, large flocks appeared almost simultaneously 

 at Devonport, Bristol, and Gloucester, and at 

 various places on the coasts of Hampshire, Sus- 

 sex, and Kent. This tern may at once be distin- 

 guished from the so-called common tern with 

 which it has evidently been frequently confused 

 by the prevalent light gray colour of the lower 

 parts, which in the latter are of a delicately pure 

 white. The tarsi are also much shorter. 



GULL-BILLED TERN, Sterna Anglica. A veiy 

 scarce and local visitor. First described by 

 Colonel Montagu, who obtained examples at Rye. 

 There is a specimen in my own collection which 

 was shot in that neighbourhood. 



LESSER TERN, Sterna minuta. Provincial, 

 Little Skiff. Of frequent occurrence at Pevensey 

 during the breeding-season and autumn. 



