378 



from : Yorkshire, one, 1842 (Saunders, Man. Brit. Birds, 

 2nd Edition) ; Norfolk, one, June 17th, 1847 (Stevenson, 

 ' Birds of Norfolk,' vol. iii) ; the Scilly Isles, one, August, 

 1851 (Rodd, ' Birds of Cornwall) ' ; Devonshire, one, May, 

 1865 (D'Urban and Matthew, 'Birds of Devon'); Hamp- 

 shire, one, June, 1875 (Saunders, Man. Brit. Birds, 2nd 

 Edition); Norfolk, one, October, 1890 (Southwell, Trans. 

 Norf. Nat. Soc., vol. v, p. 205). The most recent record 

 appears to be that of an adult male, shot at Nithsdale, in 

 Dumfriesshire, on May 28th, 1894. This, the only Scotch 

 specimen, is preserved in the Edinburgh Museum. 



-FiG. 51. TAIL OF WHISKERED TERN. Nat. size. 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. Top of head and back of 

 neck, black ; a broad white stripe extends from the gape of 

 the mouth to the back of the neck, this is the ' whisker,' 

 after which the bird is named ; back, scapulars, and wings, 

 slate-grey, darker on the shoulders and on the primaries, 

 the frosting on the latter being * pearl ' grey ; chin and throat, 

 greyish- white ; breast, light slate-colour ; abdomen and 

 flanks, dark greyish-black ; under wing-coverts, white ; 

 axillaries, greyish-white. 



Adult female nuptial. Similar in plumage to the male, 

 but a little paler in tint. 



Adult winter, male and female. Forehead, breast, and 

 abdomen, white ; top of head and back of neck, thinly 

 streaked with black ; back, scapulars, and wings, paler than 

 in the nuptial plumage. 



