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V, 



THE SANDWICH TERN. 



Sterna cantiaca, Gmel. 



PLATE CCLXXIX. Adult and Youffo. 



On the 26th of May 1832, while sailing along the Florida Keys in 

 Mr Thruston's barge, accompanied by his worthy pilot and ray assist- 

 ant, I observed a large flock of Terns, which, from their size and other 

 circumstances, I would have pronounced to be Marsh Terns, had not the 

 difference in their manner of flight convinced me that they were of a spe- 

 cies hitherto unknown to me. The pleasure which one feels on such an 

 occasion cannot easily be described, and all that it is necessary for me to 

 say on the subject at present is, that I begged to be rowed to them as 

 quickly as possible. A nod and a wink from the pilot satisfied me that 

 no time should be lost, and in a few minutes all the guns on board were 

 in requisition. The birds fell around us ; but as those that had not been 

 injured remained hovering over their dead and dying companions, we 

 continued to shoot until we procured a very considerable number. On 

 examining the first individual picked up from the water, I perceived from 

 the yellow point of its bill that it was different from any that I had 

 previously seen, and accordingly shouted " A prize ! a prize ! a new 

 bird to the American Fauna !" And so it was, good Reader, for no per- 

 son before had found the Sandwich Tern on any part of our coast. A 

 large basket was filled with them, and we pursued our course. On open- 

 ing several individuals, I found in the females eggs nearly ready for be- 

 ing laid. The males, too, manifested the usual symptoms of increased ac- 

 tion in the organs distinctive of the sex. I felt a great desire to discover 

 their breeding grounds, which I had the pleasure of doing in a few days 

 after. 



The vigour and activity of this bird while on wing afforded me great 

 pleasure. Indeed its power of flight exceeds that of the Marsh Tern, 

 which I consider as a closely allied species. While travelling, it advances 

 by regular sharp flappings of its wings, which propel it forward much in 

 the manner of the Passenger Pigeon, when, single and remote from a flock, 

 it pushes on with redoubled speed. While plunging after the small mul- 

 lets and other diminutive fishes that form the principal part of its food, it 



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