STERNA.] AVES NATATORES. 265 



the extremity : quills almost entirely of the same colour : under parts 

 white : bill dull red ; the tip dusky." TEMM. (Egg.) Yellowish stone- 

 colour, spotted with ash-gray and dark red-brown ; long', diam. two inches 

 six lines ; trans, diam. one inch eight lines. 



Inhabits the borders of the Baltic, the Caspian Sea, and Archipelago. 

 Is also occasionally seen on the coasts of France and Holland. In Eng- 

 land, a few specimens have occurred at Yarmouth and Aldborough. 

 One killed at this last place is in the Museum of the Cambridge Philo- 

 sophical Society. Feeds on fish. Eggs two or three in number ; depo- 

 sited in a hole in the sand, or on the rocks by the edge of the sea. 



282. S. Cantiaca, Gmel. (Sandwich Tern.) Bill 

 long ; black, the tip yellowish : legs short ; black : tarsus 

 one inch : tail long, very much forked, shorter than the 

 wings. 



S. Cantiaca, Temm. Man. d'0rn. torn. n. p. 735. Sandwich Tern, 

 Mont. Orn. Diet, fy Supp. with fig. Bew. Brit. Birds, vol. n. 

 p. 189. Selb. Illust. vol. n. p. 464. pi. 88. f. 3. 



DIMENS. Entire length eighteen inches : length of the bill two 

 inches : breadth, wings extended, two feet nine inches. MONT. 



DESCRIPT. (Summer plumage.) Forehead* crown, and long occipital 

 feathers, deep black ; nape and upper part of the back pure white ; 

 middle and lower regions of the back, scapulars and wing-coverts, pale 

 bluish ash : all the under parts pure white, tinged on the breast and 

 fore part of the neck, with rose-red: quills deep ash-gray, having a 

 velvety appearance, bordered on their inner webs with a broad band of 

 pure white ; some of the primaries tipped with black : tail white ; con- 

 siderably forked : bill black for two-thirds of its length from the base, 

 the tip straw-yellow: legs black; the under surface of the toes and 

 membranes yellow : claws black. (Winter plumage.) Forehead and 

 crown white, spotted with black towards the occiput ; the long occipital 

 feathers deep black, but fringed with white: under parts pure white, 

 without the rosy tinge on the neck and breast : the rest as in winter. 

 (Young of the year.) Crown and occiput a mixture of black, white, and 

 pale reddish brown : all the under parts pure white : upper part of the 

 back and scapulars reddish, with transverse bars of dusky brown ; some 

 of the larger scapulars broadly bordered with brown ; tips of the wing- 

 coverts with a crescent-shaped edging of this colour : primary and 

 secondary quills dusky ash, edged and tipped with white: tail ash- 

 coloured at the base ; the remaining portion dusky, with the tips of the 

 feathers white: bill livid black; the extreme tip yellowish. (Egg.) Yel- 

 lowish stone-colour; thickly spotted with ash-gray, orange-brown, and 

 deep red-brown: long. diam. two inches; trans, diam. one inch five 

 lines. 



A summer visitant. Frequents the coasts of Kent, Sussex, and 

 Suffolk. Occasionally met with in other parts of the country, but not 

 a generally diffused species. Breeds in large societies. Eggs two or 

 three, laid on sandy shores or on rocks. Feeds on fish. 



283. S. Dougallii, Mont. (Roseate Tern.) Bill slender; 

 black, the base reddish : legs orange : tarsus nine lines : 

 tail greatly forked, extending far beyond the wings-. 



