Crass Il. COMMON TERN. 
197 
Tuts kind weighs four ounces one quarter: Descrte- 
TIONs 
the length is fourteen inches; the breadth thirty. 
- The bill and feet are of a fine crimson; the former 
tipt with black, strait, slender, and sharp point- 
ed; the crown, and hind part of the head, black ; 
the throat, and whole under side of the body, 
white; the upper part, and the coverts of the 
wings, -a fine pale grey; the tail consists of 
twelve feathers; the exterior edges of the three 
outmost are grey, the rest white; the exterior, 
on each side, is two inches longer than the 
others; in flying, the bird frequently closes 
them together, so as to make them appear one 
_ slender feather. 
These birds frequent the sea shores, banks of 
lakes and rivers; they feed on small fish, and 
water insects, hovering over the water, and sud- 
denly darting into it, catch up their prey. They 
breed* among small tufts of rushes, and lay 
three or four eggs, of a dull olive color, spotted 
with black. All the birds of this genus are 
very clamorous. 
* They breed plentifully on Priestholm isle off the coast of 
Anglesey, depositing their eggs on the bare ground. Eb. 
