LARIDA. 651 
THE LITTLE TERN. 
STERNA MINUTA, Linnzus. 
Early in May this smallest of the British Terns makes its appear- 
ance on our coasts, especially on those which present low flat shores 
covered with sand, broken shells and shingle. In such localities it 
may be found along the English Channel and from Kent northward 
to the Humber, but the small colony which Selby found on the 
coast of Northumberland opposite Holy Island, has ceased to exist 
for many years. Mr. Wm. Evans informs me that this is also true 
of Gullane in Haddingtonshire, but the bird still nests near the 
mouth of the Tay and in Aberdeenshire ; though only a pair or two 
can be recorded from the south-east of Sutherland and none from 
the west. Of late years eggs appear to have been taken in the 
Orkneys, and a bird was obtained near Stornoway, Outer Hebrides, 
on August 3rd 1894, while colonies exist on Tiree. Southward 
there are small settlements along the west side down to the Solway, 
below which the Little Tern breeds in suitable localities in 
Cumberland, Lancashire, Wales and Cornwall. In Ireland it 
nests in many places, though seldom in large numbers, but it has 
much increased of late. As a rule it leaves in September or early 
in October, though a laggard has been obtained in the third week 
of December. 
The Little Tern seldom occurs in the northern part of the Baltic 
