246 
THE SANDWICH TERM. 
Sterna cantiaca, Gmel. 
PLATE CCCCXXXL— Adult. 
On the 26th of May, 1832, while sailing along the Florida Keys in Mr. 
Thruston’s barge, accompanied by his worthy pilot and my assistant, I 
observed a large flock of Terns, which, from their size and other circum- 
stances, I would have pronounced to be Marsh Terns, had not the difference 
in their manner of flight convinced me that they were of a species hitherto 
unknown to me. The pleasure which one feels on such an occasion cannot 
easily be described, and all that it is necessary for me to say on the subject 
at present is, that I begged to be rowed to them as quickly as possible. A 
nod and a wink from the pilot satisfied me that no time should be lost, and 
in a few minutes all the guns on board were in requisition. The birds fell 
around us ; but as those that had not been injured remained hovering over 
their dead and dying companions, we continued to shoot until we procured 
a very considerable number. On examining the first individual picked up 
from the water, I perceived from the yellow point of its bill that it was 
different from any that I had previously seen, and accordingly shouted “ A 
prize ! a prize! a new bird to the American Fauna!” And so it was, good 
reader, for no person before had found the Sandwich Tern on any part of 
our coast. A large basket was filled with them, and we pursued our course. 
On opening several individuals, I found in the females eggs nearly ready for 
being laid. The males, too, manifested the usual symptoms of increased 
action in the organs distinctive of the sex. I felt a great desire to discover 
their breeding grounds, which I had the pleasure of doing in a few days 
after. 
The vigour and activity of this bird while on wing afforded me great 
pleasure. Indeed its power of flight exceeds that of the Marsh Tern, which 
I consider as a closely allied species. While travelling, it advances by 
regular sharp flappings of its wings, which propel it forward much in the 
manner of the Passenger Pigeon, when, single and remote from a flock, it 
pushes on with redoubled speed. While plunging after the small mullets 
and other diminutive fishes that form the principal part of its food, it darts 
perpendicularly downwards with all the agility and force of the Common 
