STERNA HIRUNDINACEA 139 



were generally distributed over the entire surface, usually more 

 numerous and dense at the larger end, occasionally forming 

 a massive ring. 



Capt. King and Darwin do not mention this Tern. 



Capt. Abbott says it arrives in the Falkland Islands 

 at the end of July, and breeds in communities on the 

 sea beach, but also occasionally inland, in pairs, laying two, 

 sometimes three eggs in each nest. It disappears about the end 

 of March. 



Durnford met with, a very remarkable colony on Tombo 

 Point, Central Patagonia, which he thus describes : — " I was 

 prepared to see a considerable quantity of birds ; but the number 

 that met my eyes fairly staggered me. The nests cover an area 

 about 150 yards square. Allowing three nests and five eggs 

 for every square yard (a very moderate computation, it being 

 difficult to walk without treading on the eggs), we arrive at 

 the extraordinary number of 67,000 nests, 135,000 birds, and 

 112,500 eggs ; and, wonderful as these figures may appear, I 

 feel sure that I have rather understated than overstated the 

 numbers. The nests were mere hollows in the fine gravel or 

 shingle, and contained one, two, and sometimes three eggs. The 

 latter generally have the appearance of the eggs of the Sandwich 

 Tern, though of course smaller, and out of many hundreds I did 

 not see two alike." 



The three eggs I have represent about the extremes of 

 variation in the colony in Useless Bay. A pair from the same 

 nest are of elongate ovate form, with pale greenish-blue ground, 

 and somewhat sparse markings over the entire surface, tending 

 to become more numerous at the larger end. They measure 1'9 

 by 1*25 and 1'9 by 1-3 inches. The third egg is short ovate, 

 with ochre-brown ground and a well defined massive ring round 

 the larger end ; it measures 1*75 by 1'3 inches. Of the latter 

 type of egg there was but one pair in the colony. 



