2o6 



AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



Identification Chart No. 6. 



A. O U. 



7iosa.) 



No. 75, Sooty Tern, {Sterna fuligi- 



A tropical species found in North America along the 

 Gulf coast and south Atlantic. Length about 16.5 in. 

 Back, sooty black. Bill and feet black. Iris red. Very 

 common. 



A. O. U. No. 77, Black Tern, (^Hydrochdidoii 

 nigra surmamensis.) 



Length about 9.25 in. Found in abundance through- 

 out North America, both along the coast and in the 

 interior. Breeds from the middle U. S. northwards. 

 Head, neck and under parts, black. Back, wings and 

 tail, lead gray. Under tail coverts, white, in winter: 

 Forehead, sides of head, neck and under parts, white. 

 Back and tail, grayish. Eggs laid on broken weeds and 

 debris often on a floating mass. 



A. O. U. No. 79, Noddy, {^Anous stolidus). 



Length, 16 in. A tropical bird found in North Amer- 

 ica, along the Gulf Co ist and the South Atlantic. 

 Bill and feet, blackish. The entire body is of a dark 

 brownish color, shading through a blue gray on the 

 back of head to white on the forehead and chin. The 

 tail is long and very much rounded. They breed by 

 thousands along the Gulf coast placing the bulky nests 

 of sticks in the mangroves and other bushes. 



A. O. U. No. 80, Black Skimmer, (Rynchops 



nigra). 



Length about 18 in. This is strictly a coast bird 

 and is found in large numbers on the South Atlantic 

 and Gulf coasts. Mandibles long and very thin, the 

 lower mandible being about 3 inches in length. Basal 

 half of bill, red, the remainder being black. Feet, 

 carmine. Forehead, entire under parts and tail, white. 

 Secondaries broadly tipped with white. Top of head, 

 wings and back, glossy black. Nests in large colonies, 

 the eggs being laid on the bare sand. 



