LAUID.E — THE GULLS AND TERNS — STERNA. 



285 





(li/i'li liliick. Upper jxirta pale penrl-},'riiy (iihout as in ,S'. caspia), becoming' wliitu on the rump and 

 iippLT tiiil-c(jveit.i. Tall ;'niji.sh wliitu, tin},'i;il willi pcarl-^'ray. Outer wulw of primaries pule 

 silvery gray, tliu outur (luill ilarker ; inuur welw .slaty iu a liroail .stripe iie.xt the shaft, the inner 

 pdrlion abruiilly white, the dusky extending anteriorly near the inner edj^u of the web, e.\uei>t on 

 the outer ([uill. Bill deep oranye-red ; iris dark hrown ; legs and feet deep Idack. Adult, in 

 siiiamer: Similar, hut the forehead, lores, and fore part of crown white. 15111 uniform deep orange- 

 I liiiinie, paler at tip ; edges of eyelids black ; iris dark brown ; legs and feet <leep black. Adult, 

 ill iriuter: Siniihir to numiner dress, but feathers of the occipital crest more or le.ss bordered with 

 white ; tail-feathers more decidedly tinged with gray, the outer rectrices .sometimes (pate dark ash 

 teiiuinally. " Youikj of 

 llif ;/i'(ic, in Aufjust: Bill 

 ciinsiderably smaller ami 

 shorter than in the adult, 

 its tip less acute, and its 

 angles and ridges less 

 sliariily defined, mostly 

 roililish yellow, but light 

 jellnwish at tip. Crown 

 luuili as in the adults in 

 winter, but the occipital 

 crest scarcely recogniza- 

 ble as .such. Upper parts 

 mostly white, but the 

 peail-gray of the adult 

 ap[iearing in irregular 

 patches, and the .whole 

 back marked with small 

 irregularly shaped, but 



Well-defined spots of brown. On the tertials the brown occupies nearly the whole of each feather, 

 a narrow edge only remaining white. Le.s.ser wing-coverts du.sky-plunibeous. Primaries much 

 as in the adults, but the line of demarcation of the black and white wanting sharpness of defini- 

 tion. Tail basally white, but socm becoming plumbeous, then decidedly brownish, the extreme 

 tips of the feathers again markedly white. Otherwise as in the adults" (('oueh.) 



Total length, about 18.00 to 20.00 inches ; extent, 42.00 to 44.(X) ; wing, 14.00-15.00 ; tail, 

 fi.()()-8.00 ; the depth of its fork, about 3.00-4.00 ; culmen, 2.50-2.75 ; depth of bill through base, 

 .70 ; tarsus, 1.37 ; middle toe, with claw, 1.40. 



It is very questionable whether the bird with entirely black pileum can be regarded as in full 

 breeding-plumage. In July, 1880, Mr. Ridgway found a colony consisting of several thousands 

 of tills species breeding on Cobb's Lslaiid, Va. Dozens were shot as they flew from their eggs, and 

 '<ot one could be secured, or even ob.served, which did not have the forehead and fore part of the 

 ci'owii white. All the eggs were quite fresh ; but it is barely possible that the birds may have 

 previously laid in some other place, and their eggs have lieeu taken by fishermen. It seems, there- 

 fore, most probable that the wholly black pileum represents the full spring, or perlia[)s pairing, 

 dress, rather thiui the livery of the breeding-season. 



This liaiiilsome Tern, so far as we now know, has a somewhat restricted residence. 

 Breeding in small numbers on the Atlantic coast as far north as Chesapeake Bay, it 

 beccjuies more common in Florida, and is probably found more or less abundant along 

 the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico, as well as on the Pacific coast of Central 

 America, Mexico, and Southern California. 



Mr. Dresser found it common about the mouth of the Rio Grande during the sum- 

 mer months ; and both Dr. Merrill and ^Ir. Sennett have met with it in the same 

 locality. Mr. Salvin procured examples among the Keys on the coast of Honduras, 

 in May, 1862. Numerous other specimens, both adult and young, of this bird were 

 afterward obtained in the same locality. 





Ill 



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