TERNS 



(64) Sterna caspia Pallas 

 CASPIAN TERN. Bill vcrj' large, 

 heavy and vermilion-red. Feet black- 

 ish. In winter the forehead is white 

 and the crown streaked with black. 

 L., 22.00; W., 16.00; T., 5.50, forked 

 1.50; B., 2.75, depth at base .90. 



Range — Cosmopolitan; very local. 

 Breeds in Utah, Ore., La., Miss., S. 

 Car., and islands of Lake Michigan. 



(65) Sterna maxima Bodd. 



ROA'AL TERN. Bill orange and 

 more slender than the above, crest 

 longer and tail longer and more deeply 

 forked. Primaries with white on 

 inner webs. L., 19.00; T., 7.00; B., 

 2.50. 



Range — Breeds on the South 

 Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Wanders 

 north to Mass. 



The name Marsh Terns was given them because they 

 often nest in rather wet portions of lagoons in the marsh 

 grass, often in company with Forster's Terns and Laugh- 

 ing Gulls. The name is rather misleading, however, for 

 they as often deposit their eggs in hollows in the sand. 

 These terns appear to be much more abundant in Europe 

 and Africa than they are on our continent. 



CASPIAN TERNS are the giants of this sub-family, 

 exceeding in size many species of gulls. Although nearly 

 cosmopolitan in their range, they are very local in their 

 distribution, small colonies of a few hundred individuals 

 taking up their summer abode yearly in widely separated 

 locaUties. Islands in Great Slave Lake, Klamath Lake, 

 Lake Michigan, the coasts of Labrador, Texas, Louisiana, 

 South Carolina, etc., each claim one or more small colonies. 

 Their nests are simply hollows scooped in the dry sand to 

 keep the two or three eggs from rolling about. 



Only a trifle less in size are the more common ROYAL 

 TERNS. They are also nearly cosmopohtan, but are more 



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