672 STERNA GALEEICULATA, ELEGANT TERN. 



long, exceeding the crnra of the mandible, its outline straight. Tomia of both man- 

 dibles sharp and much inflected. Nasal groove long, fully half the culmeu, narrow, 

 not deep, directed obliquely downward and forward toward the tomia ; but it becomes 

 obsolete, however, before reaching them. A few oblique indistinct strise on both man- 

 dibles. The outline of the feathers on the bill is as usual. The bill is orange-red, 

 insensibly fading into yellow on the tip and cutting edges. 



The naked portions of the tibise, the tarsus and the toes, -with the claws, are black ; 

 the soles of the feet mostly yellowish. The most striking peculiarity of the feet is the 

 length of the tarsus, as compared with the toes. The former is very much longer than 

 the middle toe alone, and slightly exceeds the middle toe and claw together.* The feet 

 are of the ordinary shape and stoutness, with the usual extent of the tibise bare. The 

 outer toe, without its claw, is very long, being but very slightly shorter than the mid- 

 dle ; while the extremity of the claw of the inner toe falls short of the base of the claw 

 of the middle. Hallux of usual dimensions. Claws all moderately long, arched, acute ; 

 the inner edge of the middle very much thinned and dilated, auid usually more or less 

 serrate. The emargination of the webs is moderate, that of the inner only reaching 

 to the third joint of the middle toe. The wings present no special peculiarities of 

 form or color, being in both these respects quite similar to regius, already fully described. 

 The markings of the primaries are quite identical. The tail also has the form of that 

 of regius. Ju the winter skin before me, it has considerably less elongated tail feathers 

 than it will have in summer. All the feathers are also washed over with a very nota- 

 ble amount of grayish-blue, most conspicuous in their outer webs. The lateral feathers 

 iu this specimen have little or none of this bluish tinge, and still preserve a consider- 

 ably elongated and tapering shape. The forehead, and feathers on the side of the bill, 

 are pure white ; on the vertex this white becomes variegated with rounded, rather illy- 

 defined spots of grayish-black, which all have pure black centres along the shaft. On 

 the occiput the black preponderates largely over the white, which is only left as 

 a slight tip to each feather. The long-flowing nuchal crest is glossy greenish and 

 black, unadulterated with white ; and this color extends forward on the sides of the 

 head as a well-defined band, passing through and a little beyond the eyes. Even in 

 this winter specimen the rosy hue of the under parts is perceptible. 



Dimensioiis of name apecimen. — Culmen, 2.60 ; rictus, 3.75 ; gonys, 1.40 ; height of biU 

 at base, 0.50 ; width, 0.4.5 ; "length, 17 ; " wing, 12.25 ; tail, 4.75 ; depth of fork, 2.25 ; 

 tarsus, 1.25 ; middle toe, 0.85 ; its claw, 0.30. 



The above is taken from a perfect winter specimen (the original of the figure in the 

 Atlas of Birds N. A.), which does not differ materially from Gambel's type. The follow- 

 ing gives the perfect summer plumage : 



Adult. — Bill bright red, salmon-colored toward tip. Feet black ; soles and under 

 surfaces of claws slightly flavescent. Crown of head, including long-flowing occipital 

 crest, pure black, reaching down on the sides of the head to a straight line just on a 

 level with the lower border of the eye ; the white of the cheeks, &c., accompanying 

 the black to the foremost point of extension of the feathers in the nasal fossai. All the 

 under parts rosy-white, with satin gloss. Tail entirely pure white, longer and more 

 deeply forked than iu winter. Back and wings pale pearl-blue ; the usual pattern of 

 coloration of the primaries. "Length, 19 ; extent, 48" (label) ; culmen, 2.75 ; wing, as 

 before ; tail, 7.50 ; depth of fork, 3.50 ; tarsus, 1.25 ; middle toe and claw, the same. 



This species scarcely requires comparison with any other. The following measure- 

 ments give the difference in size and shape between it and regia — the only North 

 American species with which it is likely to be confounded : 



S. regia : Bill along culmen, 2.60 (average) ; depth at base, 0.75 (or about 0.333 its 

 length) ; gonys 1.25, about equal to rami of lower mandible, measured from the feathers 

 on the side ; wing, 14.50 to 15 ; tibise, bare, 0.90 ; middle toe and claw, 1.30 to 1.40 ; 

 tarsus, 1.25. 



S. galei'lculata : Bill along culmen, 2.60 (average) ; depth at base, 0.50 (or about 0.2 

 of its length) ; gonys 1.40, or rather longer than rami, measured as above ; wing, 12.25 

 to 12.50 ; tibiae, bare, 0.65 ; middle toe and claw, about 1.15 ; tarsus, 1.25. 



Compare also Gambel's original description and remarks. Galericulata is a smaller 

 bird than regia, yet with bill, tail, and tarsi as long ; the bill much slenderer ; the toes 

 shorter ; the under parts colored as they never are in regia. 



I now follow several European ornithologists iu referring the species generally known 

 as "elegans" to S. galericulata of Lichtenstein — a name which had escaped me in my 

 earlier studies of this group. Messrs. Sclater and Salvin say that comata PUil. & Landb. 

 is the same bird. 



* The species may always be diagnosed from S. regia by the measurements of these 

 parts, the toes being in galericulata considerably shorter, compared with the tarsus, 

 than in regia. In regia the middle toe and claw are somewhat longer than the tarsus; 

 in galericulata the two are of about the same length. The tarsus of regia but very 

 slightly surpasses the middle toe without its claw ; the tarsus of galericulala is nearly 

 a fourth of its own length longer than the middle toe without its claw. 



