LARID.E — THE GULLS AND TEUNri — STERNA. 



313 



iiiml re>,Mi)ii, white ; ciissuiu pr.le muoky j^rny. Sciiimlms uiul wiiifj-covuits distinctly but nurrouiy 

 liiilKMl with white. Lntciiil tail-l'i'iilliei's entiivly blackish. 



Avera),'e total leiigtii, about WM) iiicbi's ; extent, 33.(10 to 35.(M» ; wing, 12.00; tail, ".(KM.fU), 

 iis fork, a-OO-S.:)!) ; culmen, 1.80 j (lei)th of bill at base, .M ; tarsus, 1.00 ; niiildle toe, with claw, 

 \.-20. 



The series before «a exhibits a marked dillerence between specimens from certain localities — 

 (|iiiic' snlhiient, if constant, to characterize ilelinable local races. Thus, examples from Florida and 

 (iihiT parts of tlie Atlantic coast iiave the exterior pair of rectrices pure white, ^rowinj; j,'rayish- 

 dii-kv terminally, tiie entire abdomen, anal ref^ion, and crissum beinj,' pure white. Those from 

 Wi.-tern Mi'xico (Socorro and Isabella islands) are the same as rej,'ards the rectrices ; but the lower 

 (jait of the abdomen, the anal rej,'ion, and crissum, are lij,'ht pearl-gray, in decided contrast t() the 

 wliile of the breast, etc. These constitute the var. crimdin, ISaikd. A specimen from the Hondou 

 I>luinls, and another Irom Do^' Island, South Pacific Ocean, are very similar to Florida examples ; 

 bill the outer rectrices are pale yray to the extreme ba.se, the terminal portion of the inner web 

 dusky grayish for the extent of 2.50 inches. The po.sterior lower parts are also iiuite distinctly 

 tinged with pale grayish. Three specimens from Palmyra Island (Dr. Stiikhts) resemble the last 

 ill llie coloration of the lower parts ; but the lateral rectrices are dei^) brownish gray throughout, 

 tile terminal portion dusky — this, in two examples, extending ipiite to the base of the outer web ! 

 Tlir blackish of the nape is much narrower than in specimens from any other locality, and is much 

 iiitorriipled by the exjiosure of the whitish bases of the feathers. 



The Sooty Tern is an intertroijical species fouiul in all parts of the globe, spor- 

 adiiiilly, between the 30tli degree of north httitiide and the same degree south. It 

 is especially abundant in the islands ott" the scmthern coast of Florida and in various 

 points in the West Indies. It is a great wanderer, and has occasionally been met 

 witli at a considerable distance from its usual residence. 



According to Yarrell, a single specimen was shot, October, 1852, in England ; and 

 Nuumann states that one was taken near Magdeburg, in Germany. During Captain 

 Cook's voyage this species is said to have been met with several hundred miles from 

 land. It is abundant about Ascension and Christmas islands, and appears to be com- 

 mon on some of the island groups of the South Seas. Mr, Gould includes it among 

 the birds of Australia. 



Jlr. Salvin met with a few solitary birds of this species on the coast of Honduras 

 in the latter part of April; but was told that they were much more abundant, and 

 that they bred in large numbers at Cape Gracias a Dios. Mr. Dresser procured two 

 specinuMis on the southern coast of Texas, but he did not meet with any breeding- 

 lihu;e. In a voyage from England to Ca))e Town, Mr. Layard saw a flock of these 

 Terns passing directly over the vessel, early in the morning, in lat. 10° 35' S. Mr. 

 J. C. Melliss (" Ibis," 1870) speaks of this species as occurring, although not very 

 almndantly, at St. Helena. It inhabits the rocky islets off the coast, known as 

 George's and Spury Island, in considerable numbers. It does not remain there all 

 tlio year, but arrives about the end of December, and breeds during the months of 

 January, February, and March. Much risk of life is run to obtain its eggs, which 

 iiro brought to the market, and are regarded by some as a great delicacy. It seldom 

 conies near the inhabited portion of the Island of St. Helena. 



Mr. Edward Newton mentions (" Ibis," 1865) finding this species breeding on the 

 Island of Rodriguez, near Mauritius. Von Heuglin met with it in pairs or in small 

 flocks in the Red Sea, south of 14° north latitude, and on the Somali coast. It is also 

 found — although rarely — on the guano island of Bur-da-Rebschi. 



Captain Sperling (" Ibis," 1868, p. 286) gives an account of his visit to the breeding- 

 place of this species on Ascension Island ; the spot where these birds gather together 

 for nesting purposes being called by the sailors " Wide-awake Fair." As he approached 



VOL. n. — 40 



