KUNGL. SV. VET. AKADEMIEKS HANDLINGAR, BAND 40. N:0 5. 05 



bluish ash, as the somewhat sooty shade of the summer plumage has disappeared. 

 Lores, forehead and anterior half of crown almost white with some black spöts 

 formed by the dark tips of some feathers. Hind-part of crown and nape black. 

 Throat fore-neck and sides of neck white, hind-neck very påle pearl-grey. Chest påle 

 grey, breast almost white, belly white. Bill darker than in summer especially the 

 npper mandible. 



A young bird shot in July may best be compared with the adult in winter- 

 plumage. The differences are the following. Forehead more black-spotted. Under- 

 parts almost fully white, but there are some mottled feathers on the throat and 

 chest. On the back some of the barred, sandy white and black, feathers remain. 

 Scapulars and some of the wing-coverts are also barred, quills muck darker than in 

 adult and more or less edged with sandy white. Tail-feathers mottled with dark and 

 buffish at the tips and with the outer web very dark greyish ash. Bill in dry state 

 black. The feet appear to have been dull red. 



A still younger bird shot in March has the head streaked with black and light 

 sandy buff. On the nape the black dominates. Upper parts barred with black and 

 light sand}- buff. Wings as in the foregoing specimen. Rump and upper tail-coverts 

 white with narrow dusky edges. Tail-feathers mottled at the tips with påle sandy 

 buffish and black. Throat, fore-neck and breast finely mottled with påle sandy and 

 dark. Belly almost white, under tail-coverts like upper. Bill blackish. 



To judge from measurements etc. the adult terns mentioned above appear cer- 

 tainly to belong to the same species, but the question about the terns of South 

 Georgia is not yet definitely settled. Sörling saw namely, during the breeding-season, 

 not only dark terns like those described above but also such that appeared to him 

 to be almost white, and further he says, that at the breeding place as well grey as 

 white specimens were seen with white foreheads. It may be that the grey terns 

 with white forehead were such specimens which were belated so that they had not 

 yet got the full summerplumage, and it may be possible that the white specimens 

 represented the young ones from the year before, but without more material this 

 cannot be fully decided upon. 



W. Eagle Clarke (21) has determined the Tern of the South Orkneys to be 

 Sterna hirundinacea and it might be members of this species which appeared almost 

 white to Sörling. 



The Terns of South Georgia bred in colonies rather far from the sea. Some 

 colonies consisted only of 4 — 5 pairs, but at least one contained about 30 pairs 

 nesting at the same place. The eggs were very difficult to find, Sörling says, and 

 the same is also emphasized by von den Steinen (12). There is only one egg accord- 

 ing to both. It is laid without any soft bedding, Sörling says, in a nest of small 

 stones and pebbles. The first nest was found about 6 — 800 m. from the shore, and 

 only a step or two from a small rivulet, 2 — 3 m. from the first, the second was 

 found. In the first found egg a large, almost fully developed young was found. The 

 two eggs found were a little different in colour as the one was a little more green- 

 ish than the other. The former was light olive grey, a little more greenish on one 



K. Sv. Vet. Aka.l. Han.il. Ban.l 4 0. N:o 5. . 9 



