178 LEAST TERN. 
swallows it on wing. On the ground it walks prettily, with short steps, 
keeping its tail somewhat raised. 
Sterna minutTA, Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 228.—Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 809. 
—Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p. 355. 
Lesser TERN, StERNA MINUTA, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. vii. p. 80, pl. 60, fig. 2. 
Sitvery Tern, Wuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 280. 
Adult Male. Plate CCCXIX. Fig. 1. 
Bill about the length of the head, slender, tapering, much com- 
pressed, nearly straight, extremely attenuated towards the end. Upper 
mandible with the dorsal line slightly arched, the ridge rather broad 
and convex at the base, narrow towards the end, the sides nearly erect, 
the edges sharp and direct. Nasal groove short, extending to a fourth 
of the length of the bill; nostrils basal, linear, direct, pervious. Lower 
mandible with the angle extremely narrow, very acute, extending to 
the middle, the dorsal line straightish, the sides erect, the edges sharp 
and inflected, the tip extremely acute. 
Head of moderate size, ovate; neck short ; body very slender; feet 
small. Tibia bare below; tarsus very short, slender, compressed, 
covered anteriorly with small scutella, laterally and behind with reti- 
cular scales ; toes small, slender, the first extremely small, the third 
longest, the fourth considerably shorter, all scutellate above, the an- 
terior united by reticulated webs having a deeply concave margin. 
Claws arched, compressed, acute, that of hind toe smallest, of middle 
toe by much the largest, and having its inner edge thin and dilated. 
Plumage soft, close, blended, very short on the fore part of the 
head ; the feathers in general broad and rounded. Wings very long, 
narrow, and pointed ; primary quills tapering, straight, the first longest, 
the next five-twelfths of an inch shorter, the rest rapidly graduated; 
secondary quills short, broad, incurved, narrowed towards the end, the 
inner straight. Tail rather long, very deeply forked, the lateral 
feathers extending an inch and seven-twelfths beyond the fork. 
Bill light yellowish-orange, its tips black, but the extreme points 
horn-colour. Iris hazel; feet light orange-red, the bare part of the 
tibia dusky; claws black. On the forehead, a triangular white patch 
extending to the middle of the eye; upper part of the head and the 
nape, with a line from the eye to the bill, deep black; sides of the head, 
