RARER BRITISH BIRDS. 67 



Caspian Sea, and the Archipelago ; very rare on the great rivers 

 of Germany ; occasionally seen on the coasts of France and 

 Holland ; and exceedingly rare on the lakes and rivers of the 

 interior. 



In its adult summer dress, the Caspian Tern has the top 

 of the head and occiput black ; wing coverts, back, and tail, 

 pearly grey ; under plumage and neck, pure white ; quills, 

 brown ; legs, black ; bill, bright red ; length, twenty inches and 

 a half. In its winter dress, the black markings on the head are 

 wanting. 



According to Mr. Stephens, in " Shaw's Zoology," it lays 

 two or three large ashy green eggs, and its manners some- 

 what resemble those of the Gulls. But Mr. Stephens is in error 

 when he says, in the work above mentioned, that the upper 

 parts of the body are pure snowy white. 



