32 



THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY. 



Notes on the Birds of Long- Island. 



BY W. W- WORTHINGTON. 



Arctic Tern. (687.) 



(29.) 71. Sterna, Paradisaea 



Above light bluish pearl. Top of head 

 and occiput black. Cheeks, rump and under 

 tail coverts white. Beneath light pearl gray. 

 Entire bill and feet bright red. Length 

 14 t -2 inches. 



Much less common than the preceding or 

 succeeding species during the migration. I 

 have taken the only living specimen I ever 

 saw at Ram Island Shoals, in autumn. None 

 breed in this vicinity to my knowledge. 

 The breeding habits and eggs of this bird 

 are identical with those of the preceding 

 species, but the bird is easily distinguished 

 by the entire bill being red. 



Roseate Tern. (688) 

 (jo.) 72. Sterna dougalli. 



Above pale pearl gray. Top of head and 

 elognated feathers of occiput black. Bill 

 black except at base, which is orange. 

 Beneath white, with a fine roseate tinge 

 which fades soon after death. Outer tail 

 feathers very long and slender. Feet red. 

 Length 16 inches. 



A common migrant, formerly breeding 

 sparingly in two or three localities within 

 our limits, but now nearly or quite ex- 

 terminated. In 18S1 a large colony of these 

 elegant birds bred on a small island situated 

 in Long Island Sound near the Conn., 

 shore. I visited this place with my friend 

 Mr. M. B. Grifnng, on June 22d of that year, 

 and at that time the nests literally covered 

 the ground, being placed among the beach 

 grass, and some were directly under a large 

 vessel hatch which had drifted up on some 

 former high tide and was supported a foot 

 or so from the ground by the rank growth. 

 They were quite neatly constructed of fine 

 beach grass, and most of them contained 

 two eggs, and as incubation was far advanc- 

 ed, and we only found two sets of three, we 

 concluded that two is the usual number laid. 

 The ground color of these eggs resembles 

 (-'.>'■. that of the common tern, but the 



markings average much finer, and more in- 

 duced to rings about the larger end of the 

 egg. The eggs of this species are also 

 uniformly more pointed in shape. 

 Least Tern. (690.) 



(31.) J4. Sterna antillaruw 



Small. Above light pearl. Top of head, 

 outer half of two outer primaries, and tip of 

 bill black. Crescent on the forehead, and 

 under parts, satin white. Feet and bill 

 bright yellow. Length 8 1-2 inches. 



Formerly a common summer resident in 

 restricted localities, breeding in communities 

 of from three or four, to a dozen or more 

 pairs, but now nearly or quite exterminated 

 from this locality. The nests were slight 

 hollows, scratched in the beach by the birds, 

 and neatly paved with bits of shells, and 

 usually situated among abed of small pebbles 

 corresponding in size with the eggs, thus 

 rendering them difficult to find. But con- 

 trary to this, on a small sandy island on the 

 coast of Georgia, which I visited in '88, the 

 eggs were laid in slight hollows in the clear 

 white sand, and each set stood out in bold 

 relief This was the 17th of May, and the 

 sgts were about completed, being of three, 

 and rarely four eggs each. On L. L, die 

 eggs were rarely laid before the middle of 

 June, and I have taken fresh sets in July. 

 The ground color is buffy drab or whitish, 

 spotted with different shades of brown and 

 lilac, and average about 1 x 1 1-4 inches. 

 "Breeds at Port Jefferson, and used to at Mt. 

 Sinai" (Helme). 



Sooty Tern. (691) 

 (32.) 75. Sterna fuliginosa. 



Top of head, hind neck, upper parts, bill 

 and feet black. Forehead amd under surface 

 white. Length 16 inches. 



A specimen of this species was shot 

 Lake Roukonkoma, on Sept. 13th 1S7S, by 

 Mr. Chas. Earle, of N. Y., City, and record- 

 ed in the "Auk" 1886, p. 433 b y Mr - Dutcher, 

 where a description of it in full, is given by 

 Robt. Ridgway, who pronounced it "a young 

 bird in transition plumage." Another 

 specimen which I secured while on a collect- 



