r>70 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



the bill is darkish horn at the point, reddish at the 

 base : the forehead and top of the head white, inter- 

 spersed with black ; back of the head to and round 

 the eye, and the back of the neck, black ; back, 

 scapulars and tertials gull- grey, each feather mar- 

 gined with pale brown and white ; rump and upper 

 tail-coverts gull-grey ; wing-coverts gull-grey, mar- 

 gined with white ; the small feathers above the lesser 

 wing-coverts from the point of the wing to the body 

 are black, very slightly margined with white;* the 

 first primary is dark dusky on the outer and part of 

 the inner web ; the rest of the inner web is white, as 

 is the shaft ; the rest of the primary quills are dusky 

 grey, margined on the inner web, and in the shorter 

 ones nearest the secondaries on the point also, with 

 white ; the secondaries are gull-grej^, but a darker 

 shade than the wing-coverts, and are tipped with 

 white ; the tail is forked, the feathers dusky grey on 

 the outer web, but this colour grows paler on the 

 more central feathers, and paler, very nearly white, 



* Yarrell does not mention this peculiarity, but in six 

 specimens of the Common Tern which I have lately been 

 able to examine, all killed about the middle of October, 

 it is very conspicuous ; and in one specimen, killed at the 

 same time of year, which, from the short tarsus, I have no 

 doubt is a young Arctic Tern, there is no dark line on the 

 shoulder. I have not been able to examine specimens 

 enough of the two species to be quite sure of this being 

 a constant distinction, but I think it worth mentioning. 



