CASPIAN TERN. 



)1 



that now the place is comparatively deserted. In the spring its 

 plumage is so perfect, and its flight so light and graceful, that it 

 attracts notice wherever it appears. In Southern Ontario it is seen 

 only in small numbers, the migratory route being mostly along the 

 sea coast. 





,SuBFA.MiLV STERNIN^ Tkrxs. 



Gencs sterna Linn.«us. 



Sl-bgenus THALASSEUS Boie. 



STERNA TSCHEGRAVA Lepecii. 



i'3. Caspian Tern. (64) 



Adv'l iDalf^ : — Crown, side.s of tlie liead, an<l liind head, black, glossed with 

 green ; back and wings, light liluish-gray ; the outer primaries, dark liluish-gi-ay 

 on the inner webs ; upper tail co\-erts and tail grayish-wdiite ; neck and lo^er 

 parts, pure white ; bill, rich vermilion ; legs and feet, black ; tail, slightly 

 forked. Yoiiny : — Mottled and barred with dull lirown. Length, 20 inches. 



Hab. — Nearly cosmopolitan; in North America breeding southward to 

 Virginia, Lake Michigan, Nevada and California. 



Eggs, two or three, laid in a hollow in the sand ; pale olive l>uff, markeil 

 with spots of dark brown, and lilac of various shades. 



