430 
Natatores. - 
-BIKUS. 
-Lauid^. 
that on the coast of Chili the Skimmers insert the 
knife-like extremity of the lower mandible into the 
gaping shells of the bivalve mollnsca left nearly dry 
by the retreating tide ; the mollnsc, objecting to this 
treatment, immediately closes his shell, and in so doing 
of course seizes the bill of his enem}^, who then drags 
him from his retreat amongst the srmd, carries him np 
to the beach, breaks his shell open by a few blows, and 
speedily devours its contents. The few other species 
of Rhynchops are met with chiefly in tropical seas. 
THE COMMON TERN {Stena Hirundo)—?[g. 136.— 
The Terns, of which a vast number of species have been 
described from the seas of all parts of the world, are dis- 
tinguished from the Gulls by their long, straight, and 
pointed hills, small slender feet, very long wings, and 
forked tails ; from the latter char-acters, and' their inces- 
sant activity on the wing, they are frequently known as 
Sea-swallows, These are not the only points of 
resemblance between the Terns and the Swallows ; in 
their mode of flight there is some similarity, many of 
them capture insects on the wing, and hawk about in 
pursuit of them over lakes and inland marshes, and the 
species met with in temperate climates are for the most 
part summer visitors, and retreat, like their name 
sakes, to warmer regions at the approach of winter. 
The females lay from two to four eggs, either on the 
bare ground or on the ledges of rocks, without any 
nest; and the old birds exhibit much courage in defend- 
ing their offspi'ing from the attacks of other birds. 
The Common Tern is an exceedingly elegant spe- 
cies, of a slender and graceful form, with long wings 
crossing above the forked tail, of which the lateral 
Fi2. i.se. 
Tlie Common Tern (Sterna hirundo). 
feathers run out into very long and acute points. The 
whole top of the head is black, the back and wings are 
pale gray, the whole lower surface white, and the bill 
and feet coral-red. The whole length of the bird is 
about fourteen inches. This species inhabits Europe 
and Africa ; it arrives on our coasts in May, and leaves 
us in September. Its food consists of small fish, and 
although chiefly seen ajjout the sea, it will not unfre- 
quently advance far inland along the course of large 
rivers, and even sometimes take up its abode upon a 
lake. The nest of this species is usually made upon 
the ground in a marshy place. Three other similar 
species are met with in this country ; these are the 
Caspian Tern {S. caspia), the Roseate Tern {S. 
Dougallii), and the Sandwich Tern {S. Boysii). 
The former is a large species, measuring nineteen 
inches in length, although its tail is much shorter than 
that of the species just described. 
THE ARCTIC TERN {Sterna arctica) has also some 
resemblance to the common Tern, but the lower surface 
is gray instead of white. This bird appears to advance 
further north than the other species, being found 
breeding upon the shores of the arctic seas in both 
hemispheres. Its tail and wings are even longer -than 
in the species figured above. 
THE LESSER TERN {Sterna minuta) is a beautiful 
little species, measuring only eight inches in total 
length. It is widely distributed over the whole 
northern hemisphere, and is not uncommon on the 
British coasts. The top of the head is black, with a 
white patch on the forehead, the back and wings are 
delicate pearly-gray, and the lower surface is pure 
white. 
THE BLACK TERN {Hydroclielidon nigra) has the 
tall less forked than in the preceding species, and its 
plumage is of a dark gray colour, with the vent and 
under tail-coverts white ; the bill is black, and the feet 
are reddish-brown, with the membrane not extending 
much beyond the middle of the toes. The length of 
this bird is nearly ten inches. It is found inland 
about marshes, lakes, and large sheets of water. Its 
food consists chiefly of dragon flies, beetles, and other 
insects, which it captures on the wing in the manner 
of a swallow. 
THE NODDY {Anous dolidus) is a species nearly 
allied to the true Terns, but differs from them in the 
form of the tail, which is rounded off at the extremity 
instead of being forked. The plumage is of a dark 
brown colour, with the top of the head buff, and the 
back of the head sooty-gray ; 'the bill and feet are 
black. Its length is about fourteen inches. This bird 
is found in. the warmer parts of the Atlantic ocean, on 
both shores of which it is well known, but can hardly 
be regarded as more than an occasional visitor to the 
British islands. It feeds upon fishes, which it captures 
as it skims over the waves. The Noddy breeds on the 
rocky islands of the Atlantic, where it makes its nest 
with a little sea-weed, but on the keys of the Gulf of 
Mexico, where it is very abundant, it builds a regular 
nest in a tree or bush. It lays three eggs. 
