THE BIRD BOOK 
63. Gull-billed Tern. Gelochelidon nilotica. 
Range. — Found in North America along the Gulf Coast and on the Atlantic 
Coast north to Virginia and casually farther. 
This is one of the largest of the Terns, 
is 14 inches long, has a short, thick, black 
bill and a short slightly forked tail; the 
crown is black, mantle pearly gray, white 
below. This species is very widely dis- 
tributed, being found in Europe, Austra- 
lia, Asia and Africa. They are known 
locally as “Marsh Terns” where they 
breed in immense numbers on some of 
the marshes about the Gulf, particularly 
in Texas. They also breed on many of 
the islands along the Coast, rarely mak- 
ing any nest, but laying the eggs in a 
hollow in the sand. They nest most 
abundantly in the latter part of May, 
generally laying three eggs. They are 
of a yellowish, grayish or greenish buff 
color and are spotted with brown and lilac. Size 1.80 x 1.30. Data. — North- 
ampton Co., Va., May 28, 1882. Three eggs laid on a mass of seaweed on marsh 
above tide water. 
Pale greenish buff 
6-1. Caspian Tern. Sterna caspia. 
Range.- — Like the preceding species, this bird is nearly cosmopolitan in its 
range, in North America breeding from the Gulf Coast and Texas northward 
to the Arctic Regions. 
This beautiful bird is the largest of the Tern family, being about 22 inches in 
length, with the tail forked about 1.5 inches. The bill is large, heavy and 
bright red; the crest, with which this and the next three species are adorned, 
is black. The mantle is pale 
pearl and the under parts 
white. These Terns some- 
times nest in large colonies 
and then again only a few 
pairs will be found on an 
island. In Texas, the breed- 
ing season commences in 
May, it being later in the 
more northern breeding 
grounds. They may be re- 
garded as largely eastern 
birds, as while they are com- 
mon in the interior of the 
country, they are rarely found 
on the Pacific Coast. Two or 
three eggs constitute a com- 
plete set; these are laid on Grayish buff 
the sand in a slight hollow scooped out by the birds. They vary from gray to 
greenish buff, marked with brown and lilac. Size 2.60 x 1.75. Data. — Hat Is- 
land, Lake Michigan, July 1, 1896. No nest. Two eggs in a hollow in the 
gravel. Fully a thousand terns nesting on about one acre. Collector, Charles 
L. Cass. 
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