WHISKERED TERN— GULL— GREBES— REPTILES 81 



_. , . _ Although the terns are represented in south-western Asia bv the 



Whiskered Tern. ,,, , , . . . . r , J 



black tern and the white-winged black tern, the whiskered tern 



(Hydrochelidon hybrida) is much more characteristic of the region. This bird 

 arrives on its breeding-grounds towards the end of April, and nests in swamps 

 and meadows near large ponds among aquatic plants, or if the water be high, on 

 dense willow-bushes and low trees, the nest being an untidy mass of weeds, often 

 afloat and adrift. The young remain in the nest till fully fledged, and are later 

 on fed by the old birds, whom the}' follow with cries, when on the wing. When 

 disturbed by a bird-of-prey, such as a hen-harrier, the males of the whole colony 

 assemble round the enemy, and noisily chase it away. In habits this species most 

 resembles the black tern. Its range extends over southern Europe, northern Africa, 

 and thence eastwards through the Malay Archipelago to Australia ; but the species 

 is not so common in the west as in the east, where it occurs in large numbers, 

 especially round the Caspian and in Asia Minor. As a straggler it is known in 

 the British Isles, in Germany it is very rare, but it is common in southern Hungary 

 and the Dobrudscha. The blood-red beak, the white stripe along the cheek, the 

 grey breast and black crown render this tern easily recognisable. It is 10 J 

 inches long, and grey above and below, with a white edge to the outermost 

 tail feathers. 

 Mediterranean O ne °f ^he conspicuous gulls is the Mediterranean black-headed 



Black-Headed species (Larus melanocephalus), whose principal home is in the 

 countries around the Mediterranean and Black Sea. This gull 

 occurs in thousands on lake Sinoe in the Dobrudscha and at Singora in Asia 

 Minor, while in winter and spring it is abundant near Alexandria, where it breeds 

 on small islands, and floating patches of grass and reeds, often at some distance 

 from the sea. In gait and flight it resembles the laughing gull. It has white 

 wings, with a black line on the outer web of the first primary, and a pitch- 

 black head ; the delicate pearl-grey of the upper-parts and the fine, pinky white 

 of the under surface, together with the coral-red beak and feet, rendering it a very 

 handsome bird. It length it measures from 15 to 17 inches. 



Of the grebes, the little grebe seems to be confined to Europe and 

 Grebes 



Asia Minor, but both the great crested grebe and the eared grebe have 



a much wider distribution, extending over a large part of the Mediterranean region. 



Among the reptiles of south-western Asia, the scheltopusik 

 6P e8 ' (Ophisaurus apus), a snake-like lizard in which the front legs are 

 absent and the hind pair rudimentary, is very characteristic. It is about a 

 yard long, and in colour chestnut-brown, dark coppery red, or greyish yellow above, 

 and greyish and yellowish brown or reddish brown below. It inhabits grassy and 

 bushy localities in south-eastern Europe, Asia Minor, and northern Africa, where it 

 preys on small animals of all kinds, and will successfully attack even the viper. 



Several species of thorny-tailed lizards, such as Stellio vulgaris, occur within 

 the area, and one species of Amphisbcena. Like the scheltopusik the amphisbsenas 

 have only one pair of legs, but in their case it is the front and not the hind pair 

 which persists. The grey species (Amphisbcena cinerea), which inhabits Asia 

 Minor, northern Africa, and the Iberian peninsula, is the only European representa- 



VOL. II. — 6 



