34 British Birds, with their Nests and Eggs. 



Perhaps our northern birds may go no further south than the basin of the 

 Mediterranean in winter." 



The Roseate is the last of the Terns to arrive in the British Isles, and not 

 till about the beginning of June need it be looked for. 



The following is a description of the adults — of which both sexes are alike — 

 in breeding plumage : — crown and hind neck deep glossy black, with bluish 

 reflections; back and upper surface of the wings delicate bluish-grey; primaries 

 darker, the inner margins of their webs "with conspicuous white borders, 

 which extend to the extreme tips and even slightly ascend the outer webs; the 

 outer webs and the lines parallel to the inside of the white shafts black to grey, 

 according to the amount of frosting " (Saunders) ; the rump and upper tail-coverts 

 paler; the long outer tail feathers quite white; the rest of the plumage white; 

 but the under side and fore neck of a roseate hue, which fades greatly after death ; 

 the long and slender bill brownish-black, orange at its base; the legs and feet orange- 

 red. Total length 15 J inches; wings 9^ ; tail i\ ; tarsus T %ths, and middle toe with 

 its claw 1 inch. The wings are long, narrow and pointed; the tail long, very 

 deeply forked, the lateral feathers attenuated and extending about three inches 

 beyond the tips of the closed wings. 



The duties of incubation commence as soon as possible after the arrival of 

 the Terns at their breeding place. 



Early in June the Roseate Tern lays, according to different observers, one, 

 two, three or four eggs. It is possible that these vary in number under varying 

 conditions, and it may be that occasionally two birds lay in one nest. The more 

 usual number of eggs, however, is three. They are similar to those of the Common 

 Tern, but are slightly smaller and more elongated. They are pale brown, or 

 yellowish- or purplish-buff, with dark brown spots, which may be more or less 

 thickly distributed, and may vary in shape and size. In length, according to Dr. 

 Sharpe, they average from i"5-i"8 inches in length by 1 '05-1 "2 in diameter. 



The Roseate Tern nests, as does the Common Tern, in company with its own 

 species, never very far from the sea. The nest is a mere depression in the ground, 

 sometimes with, and often without any lining. During incubation the male feeds 

 the female, who keeps to her maternal duties. Mr. Blanc, a collector in Tunis, 

 has observed that this species, unlike most of the Tern family, "instead of leaving 

 its nest exposed, endeavours to hide it as carefully as possible under any scrub-plants 

 or long grass it may find available, sometimes making a tunnel-like passage or 

 approach to the nest under the herbage. The nest itself is merely a depression 

 in the ground, sometimes bare, at others thinly lined with grass bents, in which 

 but one egg is deposited." 



