28 BIRDS OF ALABAMA 



CASPIAN TERN ; REDBILL : Hydroprogne caspia 

 imperator* (Coues) . 



State records. — The Caspian tern formerly may have bred 

 on the Alabama coast, but at present it seems to be rather 

 rare there and only a few have been observed. One was shot 

 May 19, 1911, and another, February 13, 1912, in the sound 

 near Dauphin Island. A single bird was seen July 4, 1913, 

 flying eastward on Petit Bois Island. A specimen taken near 

 Bayou Labatre January 10, 1916, by W. L. Bryant, is in the 

 collection of the Department of Archives and History, at 

 Montgomery. 



General habits. — The Caspian tern is the largest of the 

 terns and even exceeds in size some of the gulls. It may be 

 distinguished from the gulls by its deep-red, straight-pointed 

 bill, its forked tail, and the fact that when flying over the 

 water in search of its prey it carries the bill pointed down- 

 ward, as is the habit of all terns. Both this species and the 

 royal tern are known to the baymen as "redbills." From the 

 royal tern it may be distinguished, according to Bent, "by its 

 heavier, more stocky build, by its heavier flight, by its shorter 

 and less deeply forked tail, and by the larger amount of black 

 in the primaries, whiclvlook wholly black when seen from be- 

 low, whereas those of the royal tern seem to be largely white 

 or grayish."t The species breeds both in colonies and in 

 isolated pairs, usually on sandy islets. The nearest known 

 breeding colony is on Grand Cochere Island, about 100 miles 

 off the Louisiana coast. 



Food habits. — The food of this tern consists almost exclu- 

 sively of fish, which are secured by diving, in the usual man- 

 ner of the smaller terns. It is reputed to rob other species of 

 their food and also to destroy their eggs and young.** 



ROYAL TERN; REDBILL: Thalasseus maximus 

 (Boddaert).J 

 State records. — The royal tern may be found along the 

 coast at all times, except during the nesting season. Although 



"Sterna caspia of the A. O. U. Check-list; for chanee of name see The Auk, vol. 33, 

 D 429, 1916; vol. 34, p. 198, 1917; voL 37, p. 276, 1920. 



tBent, A. C, Bull. 113, U. S. Nat. Mus., p. 209, 1921. 



»»Seebohm, H., History of British birds, vol. 8, p. 269, 1885. 



:tStema maxima of the A. •. U. Check-list; for change of name see The Auk, vol. 

 34, p. 199, 1917. 



