282 BRITISH BIRDS' EGGS. 



Lugano, Como, etc., and is occasionally seen on the Lake 

 of Geneva, and is found also in other parts. Its food con- 

 sists principally of dragon-flies, and other winged aquatic 

 insects. We have not the particulars of information which 

 we could have desired to furnish with regard to its nidifica- 

 tion, beyond the statement that the eggs are three or four 

 in number, and of a yellowish ground-colour, with grey and 

 brown markings. 



THE SOOTY TERN. Sterna fuliginosa. Our knowledge 

 of the occurrence of this species in Britain is derived from 

 Mr. YarrelFs "Second Supplement," frequently referred to in 

 the earlier pages of this little work. He there mentions the 

 capture of a single specimen of this species near Burton-on- 

 Trent, in October 1852, the only British specimen recorded, 

 as far as we are aware; while upon the European continent 

 a solitary specimen has also, been obtained. In the South 

 Seas, however, the bird is common, and is also known along 

 the American coasts. In writing of this bird, Mr. Yarrell 

 thus introduces some quotations from the naturalist Audu- 

 bou: "Mr. Audubon, in his 'Birds of America/ says: 'On 

 landing at Bird Key, one of the Tortugas, I felt for a mo- 

 ment as if the birds would raise me from the ground, so 

 thick were they all round, and so quick the motion of their 



