COMMON TERN. 301 



ever, was removed in 1880, when an adult male was shot 

 at Himstanton by Mr. George Hunt, on the 12th July. 



This beautiful specimen passed into the possession of 

 Lord Lilford, who very generously presented it to the 

 Norwich Museum, where it forms part of the rich collec- 

 tion of local rarities ; it is, of course, in full summer 

 plumage, and is said to have been accompanied by 

 another bird of the same species, Mr. Hunt's attention 

 being first attracted by their peculiar note.* 



STERNA FLUVIATILIS, Naumann.t 

 COMMON TEEN. 



The common and lesser terns are the only two species 

 of this genus which now breed in the county of Norfolk, 

 and the numbers of both have for many years past steadily 

 decreased. With regard to the species under considera- 

 tion there can be no doubt that such is the case to a 

 very serious extent ; all the older writers speak of the 

 tern as exceedingly common. Sir Thomas Browne refers 

 to the " Hirundo marina or sea-swallowe, a neat white 

 and forked tayle bird butt much longer than a swallowe;" 

 which may safely be taken to be the common tern. 

 Hunt mentions it as breeding on " many parts of our 

 coast," the Pagets as " very common," and Messrs. 

 Gurney and Fisher also state that it is " very common 

 in spring, summer, and autumn, and breeds at Salthouse 

 and some other shingly parts of the coast." The first 



* Mr. Gr. F. Frederick was kind enough to inform me that the 

 roseate tern, in the collection of the late Mr. B/ising, was killed on 

 the Sussex coast, near Eastbourne, about the year 1848. I think it 

 well to mention this, as Mr. Rising's collection consisted so largely 

 of local rarities that it might be supposed, no locality being given 

 in the catalogue, that this was a Norfolk killed specimen. 



f It being certain that Linnasus did not recognise the distinc- 

 tion between the two nearly allied species of tern (this and the 

 next), many recent writers have discarded the use of the name S. 

 hirundo applied by him, in favour of the more definite appellations 

 of Naumann. 



