NATATORES — LARIDjE — STERNA. 301 



THE MARSH TERN. 



< Sterna anglica. 



plate cxxvii. fig. 279. 



(CABINET OF THE LYCEUM.) , 



I ' ' 



Sterna anglica. Montagu, Omithol. Dictionary, supplement and figure. 



S. aranea. Wilson, Am. Orn. Vol. 8, p. 143, pi. 72, fig. 6. Bonaparte, Ann. Lye. N. Y. Vol. 2, p. 354. 



8. anglica. Nottall, Man. Orn. Vol. 2, p. 269. 



Gelochelidon aranea. Bonaparte, Geog. and Comp. List. 



S. anglica. Aodhbon, B. of Am. Vol. 7, p. 81, pi. 430. GlRAUD, Birds of Long island, p. 353. 



Characteristics. Bill short, black, stout and very deep. Quill-shafts white. Tail broadly 

 and deeply emarginate. Tarsus 1 • 2, and slightly longer than the mid- 

 dle toe and its nail. Webs deeply concave. Hind nail nearly straight. 

 Summer, crown jet black. Winter, crown white : a black spot on 

 each side of the eye. Length, 13*5. 



Description. Bill remarkably robust, broadly curved above, and much compressed; men- 

 tal angle nearest the tip, prominent, and from thence straight to the base : length 2 • ; depth 

 0*5. Tail broad ; the outer feathers l - 5 longer than the medial pair. 



Color. Crown and hind head jet black. Bill and feet uniform black. Above, the back, 

 scapulars and wing-coverts pearl-grey. Upper surface of the tail very light pearl-grey. Line 

 from the nostril beneath the eyes, sides of the neck, rump, chin and all beneath pure white. 

 Ends of the quills deep brownish grey. Young : crown varied with grey and white. 



Length, 12*5- 14' 0. 



The Marsh Tern appears but rarely along the coast of this State, and, like the preceding, 

 is more frequently observed in the interior along the shores of the great lakes. Mr. Audubon 

 states that it breeds from the mouths of the Mississippi to Connecticut : from 3-4 greenish 

 olive eggs spotted with brown. It ranges from 44° north latitude to the tropics. Common 

 to Europe and America. 



