THE ARCTIC TERN. 
269 
attention to the tarsi and feet, might readily confound them together. Yet 
even at this early age, there are strong indications of the bluish tint on the 
under parts. The longest tail-feathers at this period do not extend more 
than two inches beyond the rest ; the upper parts of the body are mottled 
with brown, as in all the other species, and in G-ulls. The mantle of this, as 
of all other Terns, assumes its permanent hue before any part of the wings. 
On the 5th of August, in Labrador, the young birds were gambolling along 
with their parents, over the shores of Bras d’Or Harbour, and when we left 
that country the Terns still remained, so that I am unable to state at what 
particular period they commence their journey southward. 
The notes of this species resemble the syllables creek , creek , and are often 
repeated while the bird is on wing. During autumn it follows the sinuosities 
of the shores of the bays and inlets, ascending against the ebb, and returning 
to meet the tide, which enables it to procure its food in succession while it 
keeps on its course. I have only farther to mention a curious fact, which is, 
that all the Terns which breed in the northern parts of the United States, 
and in regions still nearer the pole, sit closely on their eggs, while the small 
species that breed to the southward incubate only during night, or in rainy 
weather. 
Sterna arctica, Bonap. Syn., p. 354. 
Sterna arctica, Arctic Tern , Swains, and Rich. F. Bor. Amer., vol. ii. p. 414. 
Arctic Tern, Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 275. 
Arctic Tern, Sterna arctica , Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. iii. p. 366. 
Male, 151, 32. 
Along the coast of the Atlantic in autumn and winter, sometimes as far as 
New Jersey. Common in Maine, Nova Scotia, and Labrador, where it 
breeds in multitudes, as well as on the Magdalene Islands, and on the shores 
of the Arctic Seas. Migratory. 
Adult Male in spring. 
Bill about the same length as the head, slender, tapering, compressed, 
nearly straight, very acute. Upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly 
arched, the ridge rather broad and convex at the base, narrow towards the 
end, the sides convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip acute. Nasal 
groove extended beyond the nostrils nearly to the tip ; nostrils basal, linear, 
direct, previous. Lower mandible with the angle extremely narrow, very 
acute, extending beyond the middle, the dorsal line straight, the sides erect 
and slightly convex, the sharp edges inflected, the tip extremely acute. 
Head of moderate size, oblong ; neck of moderate length ; body very 
slender. Feet very small ; tibia bare for a considerable space ; tarsus 
