THE AECTIC AND LITTLE TERNS. 
309 
nape of this S2:)ecies again are black, the back and wings 
greyish blue, the rest of the plumage white. A very 
elegant and delicately tinted little bird this ; the first speci- 
men obtained in Britain was by Dr. Macdougall of Glasgow^, 
in 1812, on the Cumbrays, two small rocky islands in 
Milford Bay, Firth of Clyde. It was afterwards found 
breeding in considerable numbers in the Fern Islands, by 
Mr. Selby, who states that — 
It is easy to be distinguished, when on wing, from all the other 
species, its flight being peculiarly buoyant, and sustained by a slower 
stroke of the pinions. The length of the tail is also characteristic, 
and its cry is different in expression, resembling the word crake^ in 
a key not unlike that of the Land Crake. It breeds in the outskirts 
of the station occupied by the Arctic Tern, and the eggs much 
resemble those of that bird. It has occurred in several of the 
English counties, but not commonly. Its distribution is said to 
extend from Lapland and Norway to Italy, Madeira, the Cape of 
Good Hope and India. Audubon found it breeding abundantly, 
in company with the Sandwich Tern, on the Florida Reefs, but never 
met with it on any part of the eastern coast of the United States. 
The Arctic Tern was formerly confounded with the 
Common Tern, and at a little distance the two species ap- 
pear to be identical ; but, if examined closely, the latter bird 
can be easily distinguished from the former by the bluish 
colour of the lower parts, the greater extent of the tail be- 
yond the wings and the uniform deep red tint of the bill, 
the top of which is sometimes more or less dusky. 
This bird is about fifteen inches and a half long ; the 
deep black on the head above, and upper part of the hind 
neck is tinged with green ; the feet, like the bill, are a 
rich carmine. It appears on our coasts in the beginning 
of May, and is very abundant in the outer Hebrides, the 
Shetland, Orkney, Fern Islands, as well as on the western 
and eastern coasts of Scotland. Northward it extends to 
Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. Mr. Audubon found it 
at Labrador, and the Arctic voyagers foundJt abundantly on 
the shores of the Frozen Ocean. Mr. Temminck supposes 
it to belong permanently to the North, where, however, it 
has been seen only in the summer, and to represent the 
common species in the regions of the Arctic circle. 
