227 



TERN, BLACK. 



STERNA NIGRA, Flem. 



This bird arrives in the south-eastern parts 

 of England about the beginning of May, and 

 departs in September. It frequents fresh water 

 ponds, marshes, and rivers, where it finds the small 

 fish, insects, and reptiles on which it feeds. It is 

 rare in the northern parts of England, and has not 

 been met with in Scotland, but is found in summer 

 in Ireland. On the Continent it is seen in marshy 

 places of great extent, and in America is abundant 

 along the banks of the Mississippi and other 

 rivers, always preferring fresh water to the shores 

 of the sea. The nest is composed of flags and 

 coarse grass, and the eggs, usually three, but 

 sometimes four in number, are of a dark olive 

 brown, blotched and spotted with black, principally 

 at the larger end. 



TERN, CASPIAN. 



STERNA CASPIA, Selby. 



This species of Tern, which is very fine and 

 large, has been met with on our eastern coasts, 

 particularly those of Suffolk and Norfolk. It is 

 said to inhabit the shores of the Baltic, Caspian, 



Q 2 



