STERNA. 89 



78. STERNA HIRUNDO Linnaeus. 

 COMMON TERN. 



Sterna hintndo LIXX^EUS, Syst. Nat. ed. 10 (1758), 1, 137. 



Sterna fluviatilis SAUNDERS, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 25, 54; SHARPE, 



Hand-List (1899), 1, 135; GATES, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1901), 1, 182; 



MCGREGOR and WORCESTER, Hand-List (1906), 20. 



Calayan (McGregor). Countries on both sides of Atlantic Ocean, Indian and 

 African coasts in winter, Brazilian coasts in winter. 



"Adult male in breeding plumage. Forehead, upper lores, crown, and 

 nape black; mantle rather dark pearl-gray; secondaries narrowly mar- 

 gined with white; outer primary with a black outer web, and a broad 

 streak (10 mm.) of very dark gray next the white shaft on inner web, 

 rest of inner web white, except toward tip, where it is dark ash-gray; 

 inner primaries paler gray, with white 'wedges' and dark gray margins 

 to inner webs; rump whitish; tail-feathers white, with gray outer webs, 

 those of the streamers darkest; chin and cheeks white; breast and belly 

 pale, vinaceous-gray ; under wing- and under tail-coverts white. Bill 

 coral-red, the extreme tip horn-color; iris dark brown; tarsi and toes 

 coral-red. Length, 36,2 ; culmen, 43 ; wing, 267 ; tail, 165 ; depth of fork, 

 82; tarsus, 22; middle toe with claw, 24. 



''Female. Similar to the male. 



"Adult in winter plumage. Like the above, but forehead and crown 

 streaked and mottled with white; colors of bill and feet much duller 

 from September onwards, under parts paler. 



"Immature. Like the above, but the forehead white ; a dark gray band 

 along upper wing-coverts; under parts distinctly white. 



"Young (in August). Mantle barred and mottled with ash-brown; 

 outer webs of tail-feathers dark gray ; band on wing-coverts more extended 

 than in the immature bird; otherwise similar. In fledglings the upper 

 parts are much marked with warm buff. 



"Up to about the end of September the colors of bill and feet become 

 lighter, but afterwards they rapidly go back and become more or less 

 horn-colored. 



"Nestling. Forehead and throat brown; upper parts stone-buff, 

 spotted and streaked with black; under parts white; feet yellow." 

 (Saunders.) 



79. STERNA LONGIPENNIS Nordmann. 



NORDMANN'S TERN. 



Sterna longipennis NORDMANN, in Erman's Reise (1835), 17; SAUNDERS, 

 Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 25, 67; BLANFORD, Fauna Brit. Ind. 

 Bds. (1898), 4, 319; SHARPE, Hand- List (1899), 1, 135; GATES, Cat. 

 Birds' Eggs (1901), 1, 185, pi. 14, fig. 4. 



Basilan Straits ( M earns) . Eastern Siberia, Kamtchatka, and Japan; in 

 winter China to New Guinea. 



