LARTD.E — THE GULLS AND TERNS. 243 



Subgenus ACTOCHELIDON Kaup. 



Actochelidon Kaup, 8k. Ent. Ilur. Tliiorw. Di'ii, 31. Typo, Sterna cnnlinca Gmel..= 

 S. sanaviceri,!>is Gmkl. 



StTBGEN. Chae. Next to Thnlasneus the largest of the Terns. Tail more than half as 

 long as the wing, forked for at least half its length; feathers of occiput longthenod. pointed, 

 lorming a distinct crest; depth of bill at base much less than one third the length of ex- 

 posetl culmon; inner webs of primaries bicolored (dusky or slaty next to shaft, white alonj? 

 edge). 



Sterna maxima Bodd- 



EOYAL TEEN. 



Popular synonTms. Gannet. or Gannet Striker, (Coast of Virginia): Redshanks (Florida*); 



Gaviota (Mexico). 

 La Grande UirondeUe de Mer.de Cayenne Buff. Ois. viii, 346. 

 Hirondelle de Mer, de Cayenne, Buff. PI. Enl. 988. 

 Sterna mazima Eodd. Tabl. P. E. 1783. 58 (ex PI. Enl. 988).-ScL. & Saxv. P. Z. S. 1871, 



567 (critical).-SAUNDEKS. P. Z. S. 1878. 655 (do.).-CouES. 2d Check List. 1882. No. 794.- 



B. B. & R. Water B. N. Am. ii. 1884. 284. -A. O. U. Check List. 1886. No. 65.-Rn>&w. 



Man. N. Am. B. 1887. 40. 

 Sterna cayennensis Gmel,. S. N. i. pt. ii, 1788,604. 

 Sterna cayana Lath. Ind. Orn. ii, 1790. 801. No. 2.— NuTT. Man. ii, 1834. 2(».-AuD. Orn. 



Biog. iu. 1835. 505; v. 1839. 639. pL 273; Synop. 1839, 316; B. Am. vli. 1844. 76, pL 429. 

 Sterna galericulata Light. Verz. Doubl. 1823. 81 (typ3 in Berlin Mus.: determined by 



H. S.). 

 Sterna ei-ythrorhynchus Wied, Beitr. iv. 1833. 857. 



Sterna cristata Swains. B. W. Afr. ii, 18:37. 247. pi. 30 (type in Cambridge Mus.; ex- 

 amined by H. S.). 

 Sterna reaia Gaitb. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1848.228.-Lawb. in Baird's B. N. Am. 



1858. 859.— Bated. Cat. N. Am. B. 1859. No. 683.— Coues, Key. 1872, 319; Check List. 



1873. No. 562.— RiDGW. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881. No. 681. 

 Thalasseus regius Gamb. Journ. A^ad. Nat. ScL Phila. i.2d ser. lg49.323.-CouES,Proc. 



Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 18C2, 539 (critical). 

 Sterna {Thalasseus) regia Coues. B. N. W. 1874. 669. 

 "Sterna hergW Irbt. Orn. Str. Gibr. 1875. 209 (specimen examined by H. S.). Not S. 

 bergii. Light. 1823. 

 Hab. Tropical and warm-temperate parts of America, no th to Long Island. Massa- 

 chusett-. Great Lakes. Utah (?>, Nevada (?), and coist of California; South to Brazil and 

 Peru. West coast of Africa, north to Tangiers (Dalgleish. "Auk." January, 1834. p. 97). 



8p. Char. Nearly as lage as S. tscftegrava. Bill deep orange-red or orange. Tail 

 quite deeply forked. Adult, in spring: Entire pileum. including occipital crest and upper 

 half of tne lores, deep black. Upper parts pale pearl-gray (about as in 5. tschegrava). be- 

 coming white on the rump and upper tail-coverts. Tail grayish white, tinged with pearl- 

 gray. Outer webs of primaries pale silvery gray, the outer quill darker: inner webs slaty 

 in a broad -tripe next the shaft, the inner portion abruptly white, the dusky extending an- 

 teriorly near the inner edge of the web. except on the outer quill. Bill deep orange-red; 

 iris dark brown; legs and feet deep black. Adult, in summer: Similar, but the forehead, 

 lores, and fore part of crown white. Bill uniform deep orange-chrome, paler at tip; edges 

 of eyelids black; iris dark brown: legs and feet deep black. Adult, in winter: "Young of 



•Fide W. E. D. Scott, in The Auk. Oct., 18'.)0, p. 306. (But why?) 



