THE LACCADIVEUS AND THE WEST COAST. 473 
Sterna frontalis, on the other hand, is an immense Tern with 
a bill about 1°7 at front, a wing of over 11’"0, anda total length 
in fine specimens of over 16 inches ; the bird must weigh fully 
half as much again as longipennis ; the large species, frontalis, 
does not, so far as I am aware, occur within our limits, whereas, 
longipennis, as I have already mentioned, certainly does. 
In regard to the present species, Sterna Bergii, I note that 
we saw an enormous flock of it at Pere-Mull-Par, a small flock 
at Cherbaniani reef, and a single specimen near Bingaroo in the 
Aucuttee Atoll. At Pere-Mull it very probably breeds, but the 
only breeding place of this species, within our limits of which I 
yet know for certain. is the rocky island of Astolah, which lies 
off the Mekran coast opposite Jask, a short distance beyond 
the boundary of Sind. 
On this island this species breeds in vast numbers in the 
early part of the monsoons. A boat sent to this island for 
me by Captain Wise on the Ist June, brought back no less 
than 3,000 eggs of this species, and the men said that 
they had not half robbed the rocks. The eggs of this 
species have been remarkably well figured in a paper by 
Baron K. Kéing Von Wart-hausen, Jéis 1860, pl. V., fig. 
4 to 8. by Heuglin from eggs taken by. himself, and there is 
also another good figure of the egg in his Ornithologie 
Nordost. Afrikas, pl. L., but excellent as these figures are, they 
fail to convey an adequate idea of the extraordinary diver- 
sity, in colouration and markings, of the eggs of this species, 
thongh Wart-hausen’s remark that in some the markings re- 
call those ot the finest eggs, of Uria troile, gives a good idea of 
one type at any rate of these surpassingly handsome eggs. 
The eggs are typically broad ovals, strongly pointed towards 
the small end, but considerably elongated, varieties are not 
uncommon. The shell is strong and compact, but entirely 
devoid of gloss. The ground colour varies from white, green- 
ish and pinkish white, to pale buff, pale yellowish, and again 
pale pinkish stone colour, to the richest and warmest salmon 
pink. The markings are of two colours,—an intensely deep burnt 
sienna brown, often quite black in its intensity, and a pale inky 
purple, which has an appearance of lying beneath the surface of 
the shell. In some egos, the inky purple markings are almost 
entirely wanting ; in others, they are almost more numerous 
and extensive than the dark ones. In some eggs these dark 
of the first primary (which is both darker and broader in the common Tern), and 
above all, by the short tarsus of the Arctic Tern (which fully applies to all birds, 
eyen the nestlings). Although the common Tern never attains to the entirely crim- 
son bill of the adult Arctic Tern, yet in the young birds the base of the under man- 
dible, shows more of an orange red colour, than the immature birds of the other 
species, which has the bill more or Jess black.” 
