518 NODDY TERN. 



and Noddy Terns differ greatly in their flight, their manner of feeding, 

 and the extent of their migrations. The Tail of the Noddy is cuneate, 

 instead of being forked, in which respect it diflPers essentially from that of 

 the other species. Perhaps the naturalists who placed it in the same genus 

 with the Roseate Tern, may have been nodding over their books. 



Since writing the above account, I have read the article on this spe- 

 cies by my esteemed friend Mr Nuttall, and am surprised to find 

 him state that " the Noddies breed in great numbers in the Bahama 

 Islands, laying their eggs on the shelvings of rocks." No authority is 

 given for this, which I regret, because had he given the fact as observed 

 by himself, it would have astonished me as much as my account of the 

 breeding of the Noddy in the Tortugas may astonish others. 



Sterna stolida, Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 227 — Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 805. 



Ch. Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 356. 



NoDDT, Nuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 285. 



Adult Male. Plate CCLXXV. 



Bill longer than the head, strong, slender, nearly straight, compressed, 

 very acute. Upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly arched, the 

 ridge broad and convex at the base, narrowed towards the end, the sides 

 convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip acute. Nasal groove ex- 

 tended to beyond half the length of the bill, slightly deflected towards 

 the edge ; nostrils submedial, linear, direct, pervious. Lower mandible 

 with the angle very narrow, acute, extending to the middle, the dorsal 

 line straight, or very shghtly concave, the sides convex, the sharp edges 

 inflected, the tip extremely acute. 



Head of moderate size, oblong, compressed ; neck of moderate length ; 

 body slender ; feet very short, rather stout. Tibia bare for a short space ; 

 tarsus very short, roundish, covered anteriorly with small scutella, late- 

 rally and behind with reticulated scales ; toes slender, the first very small, 

 the third longest, the fourth nearly as long, the second much shorter, all 

 scutellate above, the anterior united by reticulated webs, having an in- 

 curved margin ; claws curved, compressed, acute, that of hind toe small- 

 est, of middle toe by much the largest, and having the inner edge thin 

 and dilated. 



Plumage soft, close, blended, very short on the head ; the feathers in 

 general broad and rounded. Wings very long, narrow, and pointed; 



