THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
absolute synonym of Onydioprion. But Ruppell quoted Thalassipora as of 
Boie, and it may be that it was published earlier in some obscure periodical 
in connection with the present species. In the British Museum are two 
specimens of this Tern labelled by Macgillivray, one in 1844 and the other in 
1845, the former ‘‘ Thalassipora panaya ” the latter “ Thalassipora sp.” It 
is obvious that Macgillivray did not get the name from Riippell’s work, but 
that is as much as I know at present. 
In addition to the quite different plumage changes shown by Melano- 
sterna from those undergone by Onychoprion, there is a correlative distinction 
between their breeding-habits, as wiU be observed from reading the attached 
accounts. 
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