THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 173 



difference is that in Forster's Tern the outer web of the 

 tail feathers is lighter than the inner and that the breast 

 and belly are pure white; the eggs of Forster's Tern are a 

 little larger. It breeds in temperate North America, 

 principally on large inland waters, and spends its winters 

 in South America. It is a rare migrant in New Jersey. 



Jem, Gull-billed, or Marsh, Tern. Length, four- 

 teen and a half inches; extent, thirty-four inches; bill, 

 one and two-fifths inches, black and heavy; top of head, 

 black; back, light silver gray; breast and belly, white; 

 tail, forked, white; wings, pale gray with silvery edge; 

 feet, black. In winter the top of the head is white. The 

 eggs are deposited in dry drift grass, from three to five in 

 number, cream with brown spots, and one and four-fifths 

 by one and one- fourth inches in size. The birds breed 

 from Brazil to Long Island and previous to their slaughter 

 for millinery purposes were plentiful along the New Jer- 

 sey coast, where they are rare now. They spend the 

 winter in southern Mexico and southward. They do not 

 depend on fish for food but take large numbers of insects, 

 capturing them on the wing. 



Tern, JLeast. Length, 'nine inches; extent, twenty 

 inches; bill, one and one -tenth inches, yellow, tipped 

 with black; forehead, white; back and tail, light gray; 

 breast and belly, white; wings, gray, with slaty black 

 edges to the outer feathers; feet, orange. In the winter 

 the top of the head is white, spotted with black and the 

 bill is dusky. They breed on sandy beaches, the eggs be- 

 ing three or four in number, cream with brown spots, and 

 one and one-fourth by nine-tenths inches in size. They 

 breed from the South Atlantic coast to Massachusetts and 

 spend the winter along the Gulf coast and the coast of 

 Mexico. They were formerly very numerous in New Jer- 

 sey but now no longer breed here and are seen only dur- 

 ing migrations. They were practically exterminated in 



