564 THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 



369. Gull-billed Tern [DICKSCHNABEL-SEESCHWALBE]. 

 STERNA ANGLICA, Montagu. 



Heligolandish : Lunn Kerr = Land Tern. 



Sterna anglica. Naumann, x. 38. 



Gull-billed Tern. Dresser, viii. 295. 



Hirondelle de mer hansel. Temminck, Manuel, ii. 744, iv. 460. 



The great difference in the mode of life of this species from that 

 of its near congeners could not fail to attract the notice of the 

 observant Heligolander, and he has christened the bird accordingly. 

 Any one who, day after day, has watched the Terns darting down 

 into the sea from great heights, so that the foam spurts high into the 

 air, must feel particularly surprised to see a bird so similar in appear- 

 ance roving about over the fields, suddenly dropping among the 

 long stalks of the potatoes, and disappearing from sight. Such, 

 however, is the only way in which the bird seeks its food on this 

 island ; for it has never been seen fishing on the sea like the other 

 members of the genus. The few examples of this species which I 

 have obtained here were shot at the end of May, or during June 

 and July ; they were invariably old birds. Neither young nor old 

 autumn birds have ever been observed here. The occurrence of the 

 species altogether is limited to solitary examples, which are only 

 met with after intervals of from five to ten years. 



The breeding stations of this species are dispersed over nearly 

 all the temperate regions of the earth. In the Old World it is 

 found breeding from southern Spain to the salt lakes of Turkestan 

 and Mongolia, and also at various spots in Australia. In the 

 Western Hemisphere it is resident on the Atlantic coasts of North 

 America, from Massachusetts to the West Indies. Exceptional 

 breeding stations of this species are found in Denmark. 



370. Black Tern [SCHWARZE SEESCHWALBE]. 

 STERNA NIGRA, Brisson. 1 



Heligolandish : Liitj Swart Kerr= Little Black Tern. 



Sterna nigra. Naumann, x. 189. 



Black Tern. Dresser, viii. 327. 



Hirondelle de mer epouvantail. Temminck, Manuel, ii. 749, iv. 464. 



The pretty little Black Tern is in general of rare occurrence in 

 Heligoland. In spring, especially, a bird may be shot once at 

 intervals of years ; in some years, during the return migration, it 



1 Hydrochelidon nigra (Linn.). 



