1010 STEENA CASPIA. 



the HudsonVBay waters it has found its way to the Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie river, where 

 Mr. B. Ross has procured it. 



Habits. — This large Tern in its habits is intermediate between the Marsh- and River-Terns and those 

 species which are exclusively found on the sea-coast. It is just as much a lake- as a shore-bird, and is 

 particularly partial to brackish or salt lagoons near the coast, about which it may often be seen hunting quite 

 alone or in distant companionship with one or more of its fellows, proceeding with steady powerful strokes of its 

 long wings, which enable it to take stock of a pretty large " backwater " or lagoon in a very short time ; it 

 rarely comes back over the same ground again, as with its large bill pointed downwards it intently surveys the 

 water beneath it, and is sure not to pass its prey, on which it descends with an unerring pounce. As Mr. Hume 

 rightly observes in ' Stray Feathers/ it may be distinguished from other Terns by its habit of pointing its bill 

 downwards ; but when flying along the coast or sea-beach, and not intent on fishing, it carries its bill straight ; 

 and if the observer crouch down and keep perfectly still it will fly over him ; should he, however, move it will 

 invariably swerve off and keep out of gun-shot. Though unsociable while fishing, it collects in flocks on 

 sand banks as the tide is just leaving them, all standing with their heads pointed the same way, and often in 

 company with the Brown-headed Gull. While flying about it frequently utters its harsh loud note, which 

 sounds like kriike-kra ; and it has the peculiarity of flying off, uttering this note, after being shot at and 

 wounded. I have invariably found it do this. Mr. Dresser states that it swims more than other Terns. I 

 never saw it on the water myself, and am of opinion that it never takes to it unless under some peculiar circum- 

 stance. This author remarks that during breeding-time it will occasionally kill and devour young birds and 

 steal eggs, after the manner of the larger Gulls. Its ordinary food, however, consists entirely of fish. 



Nidification. — The Caspian Tern breeds in June, a number of pairs nesting together. Mr. Durnford, 

 writing of the colony which he observed at the old-established breeding-place on Sylt, says : — "They lay their 

 eggs on the bare sand, between the beach and the dunes, in a slight hollow about the size of an Oystercatcher's 

 nest, occasionally lining it with a few pieces of shell." Mr. Dresser has found grass-bents in some nests 

 and others without any lining at all. The eggs are usually three in number, but sometimes only two ; and 

 according to Naumann while they arc being hatched the male bird displays the utmost anxiety for their safety, 

 but afterwards when the young are out he leaves the task of defending them to the female. The eggs vary in 

 size and shape, some being almost perfect ovals, slightly pointed at the small end; others long and somewhat 

 compressed throughout the smaller half; but the usual shape seems to be a moderately broad oval, pointed a 

 little at one end. The ground-colour is pale stone-grey or very pale brownish stone ; the shell is slightly 

 rough and has a moderate gloss ; and the markings are normally small for the size of the eggs, consisting of 

 dark umber-brown irregular blotches of uniform size, distributed throughout the shell on some eggs, whilst 

 in other specimens they are larger at the obtuse end ; these are mingled with smaller specks and scratches of 

 the same hue over numerous primary or underlying markings of blue-grey, in the form of large blotches in 

 some, and of small specks in other eggs. One example in the series before me, possessed by Mr. Dresser 

 and collected in Sweden and Lapland, has large, blackish, irregular, partly-washed-out clouds here and there, 

 the whole surface of the shell being openly "dusted," as it were, with small dark specks over larger blotches of 

 the same colour as the clouds; the underlying markings are bluish grey and light umber-brown. The 

 measurements of several specimens are — 2'4 by l'G7, 235 by 1"74, 236 by 1*71, 2'G5 by 1'74, and 255 

 by 1'83 inch. 



