COMMON TERN. 511 



the beginning of October. Priestholm Isle, off the coast 

 of Anglesey, and the Skerries are also visited. It is ob- 

 served on the coasts of Cornwall, Devonshire, and Dorset- 

 shire. It is said to be rather numerous about "Winchelsea, 

 Dungeness, and Romney Marsh. I have obtained it at the 

 mouth of the Thames. It is found also on the east coast, 

 and it is common along the shores of Suffolk and Norfolk, 

 but more sparingly distributed on the coasts of Durham 

 and Northumberland. It visits the Isle of May, in the 

 Frith of Forth, and other parts of Scotland. 



The Common Tern visits Germany, Holland, Switzer- 

 land, France, Spain, Genoa, Italy, Sicily, Malta, Biserta, 

 Corfu, and Crete. The Zoological Society of London have 

 received specimens sent by Keith Abbot, Esq. from Tre- 

 bizond. It is found at Madeira, the Canary Islands, at 

 Senegal, and in South Africa. 



In the adult bird in summer the bill is coral red, the 

 point black, irides dark brown ; forehead, crown, and nape 

 black ; back and wings ash grey ; outside web of the first 

 primary slate grey, the shaft white, inner web light grey ; 

 tail-coverts white ; outer webs of tail-feathers pale ash 

 grey, inner webs white ; chin, neck, breast, and under sur- 

 face dull white ; legs, toes, and membranes coral red. The 

 whole length of the bird is fourteen inches and a quarter ; 

 from the wrist to the end of the longest quill-feather ten 

 inches and a half. 



A young bird killed in August has the point of the beak 

 dark brown, the base reddish-yellow ; forehead dull white ; 

 posterior part of the crown, the ear-coverts, and the occiput 

 black ; chin and neck all round white ; back and wing- 

 coverts ash-grey, each feather margined with ash brown 

 and white ; outer web of the first quill-feather black ; the 

 others ash grey ; under surface of the body white ; legs, 

 toes, and membranes reddish-brown. 



