LITTLE TERN 397 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH 14*5 in. 



WING 10 



BEAK 1-6 



TARSO-METATAKSUS ... .. 0'7 ,, 

 EGG ... 1-6 x 1 in. 



Allied Species and Representative Forms. The Eastern 

 representative, S. longipennis, has a black bill, small ruddy 

 legs and feet, and grey under-plumage (Saunders). 



LITTLE TERN. Sterna minuta (Linnaeus). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, 'Birds of Great Britain.' vol. v, pi. 

 73; Dresser, 'Birds of Europe,' vol. viii, pi. 582; Lilford, 

 1 Coloured Figures,' vol. vi, pi. 10. 



This neat little species the smallest of the British 

 Terns though common, is not by any means as plentiful as 

 either of the two preceding birds. It seldom arrives before 

 the beginning of May, taking its departure for more southern 

 countries during September and early October. In July 

 and August, adults and young may be seen together on the 

 wing, generally not far from their breeding-haunts. 



Low-lying and sandy stretches of beach, strewn with 

 broken shells and shingle, are its favourite haunts. Large 

 flocks are nowhere common, but small parties, pairs, and 

 solitary birds are usually met with flitting to and fro in 

 quest of food. 



The Little Tern is seldom met with away from the coast. 

 Mr. Ussher, in his ' Birds of Ireland,' p. 326, mentions 

 that he observed a pair fishing on Lough Corrib, eight miles 

 from Galway Bay, in the middle of the breeding-season 

 (June 5th, 1897), but he did not find the nest. 



This species does not differ materially in its general habits 

 from its larger congeners. 



At ebb-tide, on flat, sandy coasts, I have noticed Little 

 Terns fishing in shallow salt-water channels, but a few 

 inches deep. As the birds plunged headlong with a splash, 



