382 LAKID^E 



The Caspian Tern has visited : Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, 

 Norfolk, 1 Suffolk, Kent, Hampshire, and Dorset. A speci- 

 men was also observed near the Fame Islands on June 6th, 

 1880 (E. Bidwell, 'Zoologist,' 1887). "As regards Scot- 

 land, Mr. Oswin Lee states that he made a sketch of one 

 of two birds noticed at the Findhorn bar on June 12th, 

 1887" (Saunders, Man. Brit. Birds, 2nd Edition, p. 641). 

 From Ireland there are as yet no records. 



This species may be distinguished by its size, being the 

 largest of all British Terns. It has been found frequenting 

 lakes as well as the sea-coast. 



Flight. On the wing it is powerful, swift, and buoyant. 



Food. The food consists chiefly of small fish. 



Voice. The note, vociferously uttered if the breeding- 

 haunts be invaded, is very harsh and scolding in character, 

 resembling the syllables krake, krake. 



Nest. The nest is a shallow depression, sometimes lined 

 with broken shells or bits of stick. The eggs, laid in May 

 or June, are stone-coloured, blotched with light grey and 

 dark brown. Two to three form the clutch. 



Geographical distribution. The Caspian Tern breeds in 

 colonies on the sandy shores and islands of Sweden and 

 Denmark, also on the North Frisian Islands, notably Sylt. 

 Mr. Saunders believes that it has nested still nearer to the 

 British coast, viz., on the shores of Holland south of the 

 Maas. On July 9th, 1875, he observed six adults flying 

 in pairs, evidently going out to fish in the early dawn. 



This Tern is also widely distributed as a nesting-species 

 in Southern Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New 

 Zealand, and in North and Central America. On migration, 

 in autumn it passes over Southern Europe and Asia, 

 reaching India and Ceylon. Westward, it migrates along 

 the American sea-board, but in the Southern Hemisphere 

 it appears to be resident. 



DESCRIPTIYE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. Head and back of 

 neck, glossy greenish-black ; rest of neck, breast, and 



1 In the ' Zoologist ' for 1887, p. 457, Mr. Gurney states that nine 

 Caspian Terns were obtained, and others observed, on the Norfolk coast 

 between 1825 and 1860. Stevenson, in his ' Birds of Norfolk,' vol. iii., 

 p. 296, mentions nine Caspian Terns obtained at Great Yarmouth. 



