GULL-BILLED TERN 59 
GULL-BILLED TERN 
Gelochelidon nilotica macrotarsa 
There is an example of this bird in the Geelong 
Museum, and Mr. J. F. Mulder has seen one or two 
other specimens obtained in this district ; wherefore 
I record it, but have not observed it myself south 
of the Divide. It is about the size of a Common 
Seagull, and is more Gull-like than any other of our 
Terns. Pale grey above and pure white below, it 
has in summer a black cap which disappears in winter 
in both sexes, being then indicated merely by blackish 
streaks on the feathers of the crown and a back patch 
about the eye. It is almost more of an inland-bird 
than a sea-bird, for in parts of New South Wales 
it breeds in colonies at any time of the year when 
water abounds. I had some eggs sent to me which 
were taken on Kilfera, Ivanhoe, N.S.W., during a 
flood in April, 1900, and I have seen the birds on Lake 
Cooper near Corop. But they are rare in Victoria. 
CASPIAN TERN 
Hydroprogne tschegrava strenua 
This, the largest of our Terns, is distinguishable at 
once by its size and by its red bill. It is a consistent 
but occasional visitor to the district. I suppose, if 
one were constantly in the vicinity of the Connewarre 
Lakes, one might see two or three in a year. As it is, 
I do not think I have met with it here more than a 
dozen times in twenty years. In October, 191 1, I 
