EISSA. STERNA. 263 



Distribution in the British Islands. — A Besident and a 

 Winter Visitor, breeding usually in large colonies on the 

 steep sea-clifEs of our coasts and islands. It is common in the 

 Shetland and Orkney Islands, the Hebrides, and the north 

 and the west o£ Great Britain ; but is local on the east and 

 not met with on the south coast. It is common in Ireland. 

 In winter it is numerous on the coasts of Great Britain and 

 is also found inland, but in Ireland it is said to be scarcer 

 at that season. 



General Distribution. — The Kittiwake breeds in the arctic 

 and subarctic regions of both hemispheres, except the north- 

 western portion of North America between Prince Albert 

 Land and Point Barrow, Alaska ; southwards it nests in the 

 north-west of France and along the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 

 the Atlantic and in the Kurile Islands in the Pacific. In 

 winter it -visits the Mediterranean and the inland waters to the 

 Caspian sea, the Canary Islands, the Azores, the Bermudas, 

 and both coasts of America south to about 35° N. latitude. 

 An allied species, R. brevirostris, inhabits Bering sea. 



Genus STERNA Linncms, Syst. Nat. 1758, p. 137. 

 Type : S. liirundo, Linn. 



Sterna, the latinized form of the name ; cf. Frisian Stirn, German Tanner, 

 Swedish FisTc-tdma, Norwegian Mahrel-terne, our Tei-n and Tamey. Deri- 

 vation unknown. 



Sterna hirundo. Common Tern. 

 Sterna hirundo Linnwus, Syst. Nat. 1758, p. 137 : 



Sweden. 



Sterna fluviatilis mmm. ; B. O. U. List, 1st ed. 1883, p. 180 ; 

 Saunders, Cat. Birds B. M. xxv. 1896, p. 54 ; id. Manual, 

 2nd ed. 1899, p. 647. 

 Sirund,o=a, Swallow in classical Latin ; c/. p. 111. 



Distribution in the British Islands. — A Summer Visitor, 

 from April to October ; also a Bird of Passage. It is commonly 



