STERNULA PLACENS, Gould, 
Torres-Straits Tern. 
Stermla placens, Gould, Ann. Nat. Hist, [4] viii. p. 192 (1871). 
A SINGLE example of this species has been in my collection for many years ; but I hesitated to describe it 
until 1871, when I received from Mr. Waterhouse, the Curator of the Adelaide Museum, a second 
individual. I carefully compared these materials with the Australian Sternula nereis and the European 
Sternula 7 ninuta, as well as with its allies inhabiting North and South America ; and with none of these 
did it agree. Its nearest ally seemed to he the European sjiccies ; hut from this it differs in liaving 
considerably longer wings, in the snow-white hue of the shafts of the primaries, and in the larger and well- 
defined mark of black on the tips of the mandibles, 
instead of white lores. 
From S. nereis it is distinguished by having black 
It is now nearly five years since I placed the description of this little Tern before the scientific world, and 
as yet I have seen no attempt to reconcile the species with any one previously described. But it would he 
unfair to my friend Mr. Howard Saunders, who is making the family of Larklce his especial study, if 1 did 
not admit that he has privately given me his opinion that my supposed new species may ultimately prove to 
be the Sterna sinensis of Gmelin. At present, however, he is not cpiite prejiared to assert this positively ; 
and therefore, in view of the different opinions at present prevailing in the mind of one amongst our best 
authorities, I have deemed it not unadvisahle to give a carefid figure of the bird, to aid in the further 
disentanglement of the question. At the same time there would be nothing extraordinary in the fact of a 
Chinese Tern wandering into Australian waters, as the range of the species, even then, would be small 
compared with that of some of the allied species — to wit, Sternula niinufa &c. 
The following is the description published (/. cl) : — 
Adult male. — Bill yellow, with the apical third of both mandibles black, as sharply defined as if they had 
been dipped in ink ; forehead white, advancing over each eye to near its posterior angle ; lores, a narrow 
line above the eyes, crown, and nape black ; upper sui-face of the body and wing-coverts grey ; the first 
primary slaty black on the outer web, and along the inner weh next the shaft ; the shaft itself and the outer 
half of the inner weh white ; the second primary similarly but a little less strongly marked ; the remainder 
of the primaries silvei'y grey, with lighter shafts ; throat and all the under surface of the body silky \vhitc ; 
tail white ; feet yellow. 
Total length 10 inches, hill from gape If, wing 7i, tail 41, tarsi i. 
Hah. Torres Straits. 
The figure given in the Plate is taken from a male, and is of the natural size. 
