i8 
The Irish Naturalist. 
January, 
examined it more closely, and now noticed the apparently 
black beak. Although the inclination was to put the bird 
dow^n, there and then, as a Roseate Tern, I was not quite 
satisfied that the beak was black, owing to the poor light 
due to an overcast sky. In a short time, when the clouds 
had lifted, and the sun shone out, I returned to the spot. 
The bird was again flying about uttering its harsh " crake." 
Lying down on the ground I waited for it to come within 
close range of the glasses. In a few minutes I was rewarded 
with a clear view of the bird as it flew past, and w^as able 
to satisfy myself that the beak was quite black except 
for a small portion at the base, which was orange -red. I 
now noticed distinctly white lines extending down the 
primaries while the wings were expanded. During the 
whole time the tern was in the air it kept watching me very 
closely, and the peculiar movement of the head attracted 
my attention. This can best be described as a twisting 
movement, and not, strictly speaking, lateral. In about 
ten minutes the tern alighted on the ground within a few 
yards, when I saw that the tail feathers extended well 
beyond the tips of the wings. I was perfectly satisfied 
now that this was a Roseate Tern {Sterna Dovigalli), not- 
withstanding the fact that the rose-pink on the breast 
appeared to be absent. While watching this tern I 
distinctly heard two others uttering a similar liarsh " crake " 
as they flew around. 
Soon after alighting the tern ran a short distance and 
was lost sight of. Creeping up quietly I had the pleasure 
of seeing it rise off an egg. On comparing this egg with 
those of the Common and iVrctic Terns, I found it was of 
the distinct elongated type ascribed to the Roseate Tern, 
but remarked nothing peculiar as regards the colouring. 
Two days after the discovery, another visit \Vcis paid to 
the colony. I was now surprised to find a considerable 
number of Roseate Terns. After going o\ er the ground care- 
fully, I came to the conclusion that there were about eighty 
Roseates in the colony, the great majority of them dis- 
playing the rose-pink on the imder parts. One bird ex- 
hibited a much larger portion of orange-red on its beak than 
any of the others. I examined from twenty to twenty- 
