GULL-BILLED TERN. 



marsh tern. 

 Gelochelidon nilotica. 



Char. Upper parts pale pearl gray; crown and nape black; under 

 parts white ; bill short, stout, gull-shaped, and of black color ; legs and 

 feet dusky. Length about 13 to 15 inches. 



In winter the crown and nape are pale gray, and a bar of darker gray 

 runs through the eyes. 



Nest. A slight depression in the sand of a sea-beach or river-bank, 

 sometimes amid the low grass on the margin of a marsh ; occasionally 

 lined with grass or sea-weed. 



Eggs. 3-4 ; light buff or pale olive, marked with brown and lavender; 

 average size about 1.80 X 130. 



This bird, though rare in England, is very common in east- 

 ern Europe, particularly in Hungary and on the confines of 

 Turkey. In the new continent it inhabits the whole coast of 

 the Atlantic from New England to Brazil. In Europe it 

 affects the covert of rushy marshes in the vicinity of the Great 

 Lakes, and rarely ever visits the sea-coast or the ocean. It has 

 also been seen inland, in Missouri, by Mr. Say, and probably 

 penetrates still farther into the interior to the coasts of the 

 Great Lakes of the North American continent. Wilson first 

 observed these birds on the shores of Cape May, in New 

 Jersey, where parties were engaged darting down like Swal- 



