The Zoologist — Septembek, 186{). 383 



Ibis, 1860. Sterna velox, Ruppell, Atlas, pi. 13 : Thompson, Annals 

 of Natural History for September, 1847, xx, 170; id. Natural 

 Hist, of Ireland, iii. 266; Schlegel, Revue Crit. des Ois. d' Europe, p. 

 115; Degland, Ornith. Europ. p. 335. .'' Sterna cristata, Swain son. 

 Birds of Western Africa, p. 247, pi. 30.—" Wings and longest tail- 

 feathers about of equal length ; outer or longest tail-feathers exceed 

 the middle by three inches. Bill vvholly yellowish horn-colour; legs 

 and toes wholly black. Colour of the entire plumage the same as that 

 of the Common Tern (Sterna Hirundo), but the back is of rather a 

 darker shade than that of the latter when adult. The black on the 

 head does not reach within one-third of an inch of the bill ; space 

 between the termination of the black plumage and the bill pure 

 white." — Thompson, 1. c. A specimen of this bird was shot by Mr. 

 Lynch, of Cork Street, Dublin, near Sutton, a place between Dublin 

 and Howth, at the end of December, 1846 : two others of the same 

 species were seen : full details are given in the ' Annals of Natural 

 History,' in the 'Zoologist' for 1847, at p. 1878, and in Thompson's 

 'Natural History of Ireland,' as cited above. It is known as an 

 inhabitant of the Red Sea, Eastern and Western Africa, and the 

 Mediterranean as far west as Sicily. " Found breeding on the low 

 treeless sand island off the Luabo mouth of the Zambesi, in the month 

 of January. The nests, which were placed a few yards from the tide- 

 mark, consisted of slight hollows in the sand, with a feyv sticks 

 gathered round. They were quite open and exposed, or placed occa- 

 sionally under shelter of any log of wood cast up, but never in the 

 centre of the island. This place is well protected from visits of mon- 

 keys by a wide extent of water." — Dr. J. Kirk on the Birds of the 

 Zambesi Region, Ibis, 1864, p. 337. The following particulars of its 

 eggs leave nothing to be desired : — " I have fourteen eggs in a good 

 state of preservation, and five injured ones, collected on the Island of 

 Lobo (Archipelago of Dahalak), 1st. Aug. 1857. They are distin- 

 guished from all the eggs of Sterna hitherto known by their consider- 

 able size, and beautiful and very varied colouration. Their length 

 reaches 25—29, their breadth 17|— 18|-, lines; their weight amounts 

 to 57 — 70, generally to 60, grains. The ground colour is greenish 

 white, greenish grey, reddish white, incarnate or violet-rose. The 

 greenish specimens have, as in Alca lorda, large blackish brown burnt 

 spots and grey clouds; the reddish ones mostly smaller, rounded, 

 sometimes also burnt spots, the colour changing from the centre to the 

 margin, as stated above, and frequently short and numerous flourishes 



