ARCTIC TERN. 





STERNA MACBUBA, Naumann.* 



THE ARCTIC TERN. 



Sterna arctica. 



THE ARCTIC TERN entirely replaces the Common Tern in 

 the circumpolar regions, but on the coasts of the British 

 Islands and of North-western Europe hoth species are found, 

 and were for some time united by the earlier writers on 

 ornithology. Naumann was the first to distinguish them, 

 and he was followed, a year later, by Temminck. It is 

 characterized by its more slender form, longer tail-feathers, 

 a coral-red bill without any appreciable amount of black at 

 the tip, very short tarsi, and the french-grey of the under 

 parts is as dark as that of the back and wings. The young 

 may always be recognized by the shorter tarsus, and by the 

 narrowness of the dark line which runs along the shaft on 



Isis, 1819, p. 1847. 



VOL. III. 



4 B 



