634 BLACK TERN. 
September 1886. Although it occasionally wanders to the south of 
Norway, it is not known to breed north of about lat. 60° in the 
Baltic, the Gulf of Finland or Russia; but over the rest of the 
Continent it is abundant in suitable localities down to the Mediter- 
ranean ; and it also nests in the marshes of North Africa. In winter 
it has been obtained as far south as Loango on the west and Abyssinia 
on the east; but all the specimens recorded under the name of 
Hf, nigra from Damara-land, or the Transvaal, have proved to be 
fT. leucoptera, the next species. In Asia, the Black Tern cannot 
be traced beyond Western Turkestan, and there is no authentic 
record from India or China. In America, from Canada in summer 
to Chile in winter, its representative is 4. surinamensis, the adults 
of which have the upper and under-parts deep black, and much 
white on the carpal joints, while even the young are darker than 
those of the Old World species. 
From about the third week in May this bird may be found in 
colonies on wet marshes or by shallow pools, making its nest of 
decayed plants on heaps of wrack which rise and fall with the water, 
or on the firmer hummocks of the bog. The eggs, 3 in number, are 
ochreous or olive-green in ground-colour, boldly blotched with dark 
brown : measurements 1°45 by 1 in. The Black Tern feeds chiefly 
on aquatic insects, many of which—such as dragon-flies—it takes on 
the wing, and Mr. F.S. Mitchell has watched it swooping down 
upon the field-crickets (Acheta campestris) during their momentary 
appearance at the entrances of their burrows ; it is also very partial 
to leeches, and will take small fish &c. The note is a shrill crick, 
erick, 
The adult in nuptial dress (figured in the foreground) has the head 
and neck dark lead-grey, nearly black on the crown and nape ; back, 
wings and tail slate-grey (the last slightly forked) ; throat, breast and 
belly dark lead-grey ; under wing-coverts pale grey ; vent white ; bill 
black ; legs and feet short, and reddish-brown in colour. Females 
have usually paler under-parts than males. Length 9°6 in. (bill 1°25), 
wing 8-5 in. After the moult, which begins towards the end of July, 
the forehead, throat and nape are white, as are also the under-parts 
for a short time, though they are usually barred with grey. The 
young bird (in the background) is mottled with brown on the head 
and mantle ; but by the following spring the upper parts have become 
lead-grey, with a darker line remaining along the carpal joint. The 
full dress is not acquired till the second spring, when breeding takes 
place. 
