Birds of Celebes: Laridae. 
905 
Nest. The eggs ai’e laid upon a little collection of small Imnps of coral and stone bn the 
bare rock, or in a little depression in the sand (Andaman and Nicobar Is., Hume 22). 
Distribution. Indian and Pacific Oceans — from Tenasserim and the Andamans to the 
island-groups north of Madagascar; from the Loochoo Islands and E. and S. China 
through the East India Archipelago to New Guinea, New Caledonia and N. and 
E. Australia, west as far as the Marshall, Phoenix, and Samoa Islands in Polynesia. 
— In Celebes: Celebes (Reiiiwardt 5); Banka Island (Nat. Coll); Lembeh Island 
(P. & F. Sarasin). 
The type of the Black-filletted Tern was obtained, apparently in 1821, by 
Reinwardt in Celebes, but not many examples have been collected there since. 
It breeds, however, at Lembeh Island, as is proved by the young example 
killed there by the cousins Sarasin; it looks as if it had not been more than 
a fortnight out of the nest. Other known breeding places are the Andamans 
and Nicobars, S. and E. China, the Pelew Islands, sandbanks off N. Australia, 
and various islands of Polynesia (eggs in the Nehrkorn Coll.). It is, however, to 
some extent also a migrant, for instance Abbe David (9) and Mr. De La Touche 
(26) observe that it comes to the rocky islets off the coast of China in 
great numbers in the warm season to breed; and similarly, as Hume and 
Davison (b 1) found, it visits the Andamans towards the end of April for this 
purpose. 
This is a beautiful and very distinct species, easily recognised by its having 
the whole head above white encircled by a band of black passing through the 
eye and round the nape, by its light pearl-grey upper plumage with the outer 
web of the outer primary black, and black bill and feet. From the angular 
cut of its shorter remiges, which bear resemblance to those of the next species 
-S', anaestheta, it is evidently an admirable flier. Its most special characteristic 
is the restriction of the black of the head to a broad fillet. In the Sterninae 
black is a very persistent colour over the forehead, crown and nape; in a large 
number of typical Terns the whole upper head, down to the level of the under 
eyelid and nape is black; white appears first (or black disappears first, as the 
case may be) on the forehead and supraloral region, as shown in many species, 
for instance -S. minuta, S. bergii, 8. fuligmosa-, in 8, melanmichen the black is re- 
stricted to a band round the head, in -S. trudeaui of S. America the band no 
longer passes round the nape, but it remains as a stripe through the eye; in 
Gygis there is no black at all in the plumage. In a species of Anous, Anous 
leucocapillm, the entire state of things is reversed; the head above and nape are 
white and the rest of the bird black. In the true Terns it may be noted that 
the black on the head expands, so to say, in the breeding season and recedes 
in the winter; the young of many species of Terns also show a tendency to 
acquire black on the nape and on the region of the eye, but less so on the 
crown and not at all on the forehead. As a parallel case may be cited a 
group of Orioles: Oriolus melanisticus oi 'TA&xit, O. broderipi, celehensis., galhula.^ 
others, in w'hich the black on the head and nape forms sometimes) an almost 
Meyer & Wiglesworth, Birds of Celebes (Dec. 1-lth, 1897). 114 
