THE ROSEATE TERN 339 



it was first observed, is one of the largest of the 

 British terns, measuring fifteen inches in length. 

 Colonel Irby thus describes its plumage : ' Head 

 black ; tail white ; bill black, with yellow tip ; 

 legs black.' 



This description is sufficient for identification, 

 but it hardly conveys a full impression of the 

 extreme beauty of the bird, the back, or ' mantle/ 

 as it is termed, being a pearl-gray ; the throat 

 and under parts white (according to Saunders, 

 1 often suffused with a lovely salmon-pink) ; the 

 rump and tail are also white. It is a summer 

 visitor, although it is known to breed in the 

 Fame Islands, in one locality in Cumberland, 

 one or two parts of Scotland, and near Ballina in 

 Ireland. 



The roseate tern, though not a rare variety, 

 is by no means common. It is one of the most 

 graceful of this graceful family, and one of the 

 largest, measuring from fifteen to seventeen 

 inches in length. It derives its name from the 

 delicate rose-colour of its under parts. The back, 

 or 'mantle,' is of a pale gray. Yarrell thus describes 

 the plumage of the adult bird in summer : * The 

 bill from the point to the nostrils black, thence 

 to base red ; top of head black ; neck all round 

 white ; back, wing-coverts, and quill-feathers ash- 

 gray ; outer webs of primaries dark gray, inner 

 webs lighter ; tail-feathers very long, extending 

 beyond the ends of the wings, the colour pale 

 ash-gray ; breast and under surface of the body 



