STERNA CASPIA. 1009 



Distribution. — This splendid Tern is more abundant on the Jaffna peninsula and in certain spots on the 

 north-west coast than elsewhere in Ceylon. I met with it in the month of March in great numbers about the 

 Jaffna Lake and the islands off the town. At Erinativoe Islands and on the Manaar flats it was also abundant; 

 and in Calpentyn Bay I saw large numbers. Southward of this it becomes rarer, and I have not seen it 

 below Chilaw on this side of the island. On the other coast it is not uncommon about the salt lagoons and 

 also on the open shore to the north of Trincomalie. On the Peria-kerretje Lake small flocks were seen by 

 me; but it is nowhere so common in tins part as at Jaffna. In the south-east of the island I have seen it in 

 March in the Kirinde and Yala district, but in the hot weather it was not observed. The majority leave 

 Ceylon in April, and in October their numbers are again increased. Mr. Holdsworth has seen it throughout 

 the year at Aripu. It has not been met with in the Malay arcbipelago, and therefore it is to be inferred that 

 its migration is northerly along the Indian coasts ; but as it is not recorded as a very abundant species in the 

 Empire, its breeding-haunts may perhaps be nearer Ceylon than is supposed. Jerdon states that it is by 

 no means uncommon in most parts, frequenting rivers, jheels, and tanks ; but of late years the notices of 

 its occurrence have been rather meagre, and relate chiefly to the sea-coast. It is not found on the Andamans 

 or Nicobars; and in the Laccadives Mr. Hume did not see it. In Burmah it appears to be very rare, as 

 Mr. Oates only saw a pair once in the Sittang. It appears to be rare on the Hooghly, as Mr. Hume has never 

 seen it in tbe Calcutta bazaar, and I do not observe any record of its occurrence further inland on the Ganges 

 or Jumna; moreover Mr. Hume remarks that it is almost unknown in the N.W. Provinces, Sindh, the Punjab, 

 and Rajpootana, although it is occasionally seen on the Indus after its entrance into the province of Sindh ; here, 

 as elsewhere, it proves itself a lake-frequenting species, being very common on all the inland sheets of water, 

 as many as fifty being seen at a time on the Muncher Lake. In Kurrachee harbour it is not uncommon ; 

 and specimens were seen by Mr. Hume on the Mekran coast and at Muscat. In Persia it is common on the 

 Shiraz and Kazrun plains in winter, the same at Lenkoran in June, and on the Caspian abundant, breeding 

 there. Severtzoff states that it breeds in the eastern and north-western provinces of Turkestan, including 

 the sea of Aral, and an altitude on the Thian-shan mountains of 4000 feet. It will probably be found at Lake 

 Balkash in Russian Turkestan ; but further north in Siberia it is almost unknown, as the only place that it has 

 been recorded from is near the mouth of the Dseja. It was not met with by Prjevalsky ; but in China it has 

 been seen by Pere David on lakes and streams in the interior. Swinhoe found it on the coast of the mainland 

 in Formosa in winter, and in Hainan at Hoehow harbour in February and April. It is not found in the 

 Philippines, and has not yet been recorded from the Malay archipelago. In Australia, however, it reappears, 

 being found from Cape York down the east coast to Tasmania, being abundant in Bass's Straits, where it 

 breeds in September and October. On the west coast it has not been noticed. Crossing over to Africa we 

 find it, according to Layard, a summer visitor to the south of the continent, being not uncommon on the 

 coasts ; the same is said of Damara Land by Mr. Andersson. Up the east coast it is found at Mozambique, 

 breeding on islands off the mouth of the Zambesi, and extending across to Madagascar, probably visiting also 

 the Comoro Islands. It is resident in the Gulf of Aden and along the coasts of the Red Sea, as well as in 

 Lower Egypt ; but to the interior (the Blue and White Nile and the Kordofan district) it is, according to 

 Von Heuglin, chiefly a winter visitor. It is found along the north coasts to Tangier chiefly in winter. On 

 the western side it is recorded from Gambia, Sierra Leone, and the Gaboon. It is not common in Southern 

 Spain, but breeds at the mouth of the Guadalquivir and near Cartagena on the S.E. coast. It is an occasional 

 visitor to the French coast, and a rare straggler to the British isles, having occurred on the south and east 

 coasts between the months of May and October inclusive. It is rare in Belgium, but more common in Denmark ; 

 and the late Mr. Durnford found a good many breeding in the island of Sylt, where, however, its numbers have 

 greatly decreased within the last fifty years. In midsummer it ranges up the coast of Sweden to Tornea, at 

 the head of the Gulf of Bothnia. It occurs irregularly on the coasts of Italy and in Malta and Sicily, but it 

 breeds on islands on the Sardinian coast. It was observed on the coasts of Albania by Lord Lilford, has been met 

 with in winter at Missolonghi, breeds in the marshes of the Dobrudscha, and is tolerably common on the 

 Black Sea. It does not seem to wander across the south-eastern portion of the continent, as it has only 

 once been recorded from Austria. It has been seen by Lord Lilford at Cyprus ; and Canon Tristram obtained 

 it in Palestine. Finally, turning our attention to the Nearctic region, we find it recorded by Professor Baird 

 as occurring on the east coast of America in winter, as far south as New Jersey ; and from Labrador through 



