Vol. xli.] 80 



plate of the chick of Syrrhaptes paradoxus (Newton, 'Ibis/ 

 1890, p. 214), which I pass round for comparison, a similar 

 sort of " figure of eight " pattern is shown. 



These chicks were obtained in Sind on 25th May, 1919. 



2. Young in down of Sterna saundersi. 



The chick of this Tern, if known at all, is sufficiently rare 

 and of interest to bring before you. I show for comparison 

 a chick of Sterna alhifrons { = mimita), the Little Tern. It 

 would appear that the chick of the former is rather yellower 

 in tone, though the pattern is similar. Both these chicks of 

 S. saundersi show this, but one needs a few more chicks 

 of S. albifrons to see if the colour is ever as yellow as these 

 are, as chicks of Terns vary somewhat. 



I also show you chicks of Gull-billed, Caspian, and Common 

 Terns. It is curious to note the tendency to a blackish 

 throat in all three species, which is never attained in any 

 other plumage. 



Note also the differences in the pattern : the Common 

 Tern most heavily marked, the Caspian least so of all, having 

 hardly any dark markings, and the Grull-billed intermediate 

 in this respect : note, too, the pure white tips to the wings of 

 the latter which the others lack, and the relatively stouter 

 feet and bill in the Caspian Tern. (The chick of the Common 

 Tern is an English specimen.) 



3. Saunders' Tern. 



There has been a great deal of confusion in the literature 

 as regards this little Tern, because I think the characteristics 

 of it have not been fully grasped. The upper parts are paler 

 than in S. albifrons, the three outer primaries are jet-black 

 and pure white, with a very sharp division between the 

 patterns ; in S. alhifrons the outer two only are usually 

 blackish and not so sharply divided from, but shading off 

 into, the white on the inner webs. Sometimes, however, the 

 outer three primaries are blackish (and such birds have 

 frequently passed as S. saundersi), as in one I exhibit from 

 Sussex. But in these the demarcation of black and white is 



