THE LACCADIVES AND THE WEST COAST. 477 
They clearly belonged to some Gull, and were, I think, larger 
than those of Sterna Bergit which I have from Astola. In 
regard to the smaller species, there could be no doubt, scores 
of dried-up mummies of the young birds and several nearly 
perfect dried-up skins of old ones of our present species lay 
about. I dare say, I saw the remains of more than 100 young 
and old ones; and all belonging to this same species; not a 
single remain did I find of any other species; I have, therefore, 
not the smallest doubt that the few eggs which I was able to 
hring away also belonged to this species. No doubt they are 
much too small compared with the eggs figured in Finsch and 
Hartlaub’s Ornithology of Central Polynesia, but they agree 
well enough with Gould’s dimensions (Birds of Aus., Vol. ny. 
p. 411,) and those given by Henglin (O. N-O. Afr., p. 1,456.) 
The eggs are of the usual Tern shape, perhaps a trifle more 
elongated. than usual, shewing a considerable tendency to be 
pointed towards the small end. The ground colour appears to 
have varied through different shades of buffy greenish and pinkish 
stone color, and they are rather profusely spotted, blotched, 
and speckled with darker and lighter shades of purple or 
greyish lilac. The eggs are not in a really good condition, and 
have lost all gloss (if “they ever had any) so that I cannot be 
quite sure of the colors. 
The eggs, I have preserved, vary from, 1°68 to 1°82 in 
length, and from 1:2 to 1:22 in breadth. 
992 dis.—Sterna fuliginosa, G'm. 
I have already described this species, 8. F., Vol. I., p. 440. 
We found it breeding in enormous numbers at the Cherbaniani 
reef, but when we visited the place, about the middle of 
February, almost all the eggs were hatched off and the reef 
was swarming with myriads of young birds vide supra. page 
429, from one to I suppose twenty days of age. 
The following are the dimensions of three fine adults that 
I measured in the flesh :— 
a Length. Expanse. Tail. Wing. Tarsus. Bill from gape. Bill rt front. Weight. 
7 17°75 35''"26 7 "sg O'g 24 17 8 oz. 
16" 34'-5 6°7 1's ~—-0""93 21°35 1 65 3 oz. 
2 i6""1 = 32'"5 6"* 10°65 "eg 2"°3 16 3 07. 
Irides, deep brown ; bill, iegs, and feet, black or blackish with 
a dull purplish tinge. 
A nestling, perhaps two days’ old, has the chin, throat, breast, 
abdomen, greyish white ; the whole of the rest of the body and 
head, white and buffy white, speckled and streaked and spotted 
with blackish dusky. One a few day’s older, and, probably 
double its weight, is similar, but it hasa certain number of feathers 
dusky with narrow white tips on the upper back, and most of 
