TERN. NATATORES. STERNA. 479 



it is rarely met with in the north of England or in Scotland. 

 On continental Europe, it is ver,y abundant throughout the 

 whole of Holland, in many parts of France, and in that por- 

 tion of Hungary which is intersected by lakes and morasses. 

 Its food chiefly consists of the larger sorts of water-fly, as Food. 

 LibellulcR) Pliryganece^ &c., but it also eats the fry of fish, 

 and aquatic worms. Its flight is peculiarly buoyant, and has 

 been compared to that of Night Jar ; the evolutions being 

 very rapid, and the turns very abrupt, particularly when 

 hawking after its food. MONTAGU, in the Supplement to his 

 Ornithological Dictionary, mentions a chace of this bird by 

 a Peregrine Falcon, whose repeated pounces it foiled, and 

 from whom it ultimately escaped, by the dexterity and singu- 

 lar quickness of its manoeuvres. 



PLATE 91. represents this species in both the Summer and 

 Winter Plumage. 



Head and neck entirely black. Breast, belly, and abdo- ^^ ral 

 men, deep blackish-grey. Under tail-coverts white, tion. 

 Upper plumage and tail deep bluish-grey. Two first Summer 

 primary quills having the extremity of the inner web 

 edged with white. Bill about the length of the head, 

 black. Legs and feet black, with a tinge of red ; and 

 with the membranes that connect the toes deeply scal- 

 loped. 



Crown of the head, and back part of the neck, white. ^J^ 

 The forehead, cheeks, throat, and fore-part of neck, 

 pure white. The rest of the plumage as in summer. 

 During the time of change, the forehead and throat are 

 more or less spotted with black. 



The Young, in addition to the white forehead and throat, Young, 

 have all the under plumage of a pure white ; and on 

 each side of the breast is a patch of blackish-grey. The 

 crown of the head, nape of neck, and mark in front of 

 the eyes, are black. Back and scapulars brown, tinged 



