THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Sterna fuscata serrata id., Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 209, 1912 ; id., Austral Av. Rec., 
Vol.I., p. 54, 1912. 
Distribution. Australian seas. 
Adult male in breeding-plumage. Crown of head and nape black, as also a line of feathers 
from the gape to the eye ; hind-neck, back, scapulars, wings and tail sooty- 
black ; the small coverts along the upper margin of the wing white ; inner webs of 
secondaries whitish towards the base ; outer tail-feathers greyish-brown, darker 
towards the tips on the inner webs ; forehead and a narrow line to above the middle 
of the eye white ; sides of neck, throat, and under-surface of body also white, 
becoming shaded with grey on the lower abdomen, under tail-coverts, axillaries, 
and under wing-coverts ; bill and feet black ; iris black and white. Total 
length 475 mm. ; culmen 42, wing 304, tail 210, tarsus 24. 
Adult female. Similar to the adult male, but smaller in every dimension. 
Adult in winter-plumage. Similar to the adult in breeding-plumage, but the lores and 
crown of head intermixed with white and black. 
Nestling {a few hours old). — Covered with dirty-white down, more incHning to white 
on the abdomen ; bill yellowish, tip black ; iris deep brown ; feet and legs nearly 
black. 
Nestling {three days old). A mixture of grey and white down on the upper-surface, some- 
what darker on the forehead ; under-surface white. 
Progress of young. South Island, Houtman’s Abrolhos : — 
January 17, 1843. — In down. — ^Mottled brownish and white above and on sides 
of the breast ; under-surface white. 
January 30, 1843. — Forehead and throat and flanks still down-covered. Head 
dark brown with darker tips ; all back, wing- and tail-feathers brown, with more 
or less extensive white tips ; under-surface ashy-brown with white patch on the 
abdomen. 
February 16, 1843. — ^No down remaining. Wing- and tail-feathers half grown. 
Head and under-surface all brownish, hghter on flanks ; under tail-coverts paler 
with rufous tips ; back and tail, scapulars and lesser wing-coverts faintly rufous 
and tipped with white ; primaries untipped. 
Kermadecs. — ^About the same age as second above. Has down remaining on head, 
which shows shghtly rufous tips underneath ; the general upper-coloration is 
shghtly darker, while the tips on the back, wing-coverts and tail-feathers are 
distinctly rufous, those on the scapulars being rufous-white ; the under surface is 
darker and more mottled with greyish- white. 
Kermadecs. — Shghtly older than third above, about ready to fly. Has the head- 
feathers tipped with rufous, the back having slightly smaller tips ; tail-tips worn 
off ; underneath darker but more mottled with grey, especially the throat ; under 
wing-coverts pure grey with whitish tips ; axillaries deep grey with darker tips ; 
under tail-coverts dark grey with rufous tips. 
Nest. “ Lays a single egg on the bare ground beneath the thick scrub ” (Gilbert). 
“ In the open ” (Iredale, North, Hull, and Macgillivray). 
Egg. Clutch, one ; ground-colour stone, spotted with rich chestnut (more noticeable 
on the larger end), and small markings of grey or lavender ; axis 53-55, diameter 
35-36. I have pure white eggs taken on the Kermadec Islands. 
Breeding -season. November (Lord Howe Island and Kermadec Islands) (Gibson, 
Houtman’s Abrolhos) ; December and January (Gilbert, Houtman’s Abrolhos) ; 
May and June (Macgillivray, Torres Strait) ; September (Metcalfe, Norfolk Island) 
to November (Hull) ; December (Hull, Norfolk Island). 
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