mmmam 



wamm 



T^r 



( 10 ) 



ORD. III. GEN. II. TERN. 



SPE. II. COMMON TERN. 



PI. 205. 



Sterna hirundo. Lin. Syft. I. p. 227. 



La grande hirondelle de Mer. Brtf. Orn. IV. p. 203. 



The common tern, or fea-fwallow, as it is frequently called from the refem- 

 blance in the tail, weighs about four ounces, is fourteen inches in length, and 

 in breadth thirty. The bill is long, pointed, and of a bright orange-colour, 

 tipped with black : eyes, dark orange : crown, and hind part of the head, 

 black : throat, and all the under parts, white : back, and wings, light grey : 

 quills, fomewhat darker: tail, deeply forked, and the feathers white, except the 

 exterior ones, which are black : legs, red orange colour : claws black. 



Thefe breed in great numbers on the flat fliore of the fea, together with the 

 Sandwich tern, in a kind of fociety ; for in a fmall fpot of ground I have taken 

 upwards of a hundred eggs at one time, while not a neft was to be found elfe- 

 where on the fame level for miles. They repair to the fame fpot every breed- 

 ing feafon, as rooks to their rookery. For the egg fee PI. XLIV. Fig. 1. 



