170 
TERNS 
in breeding plumage its white forehead and largely yellow bill are 
distinctive. Its call, as described by Job, is “a shrill, staccato yip, 
yip, yip.” 
75. Sterna fuseata Linn. Sooty Tern. Ads. — Forehead and a line 
reaching to the eye white, lores and rest of the head black; nape, back, and 
wings brownish black, nearly as dark as the head; outer tail-feathers white, 
brownish on the end half of the inner web; rest of tail-feathers of the same 
color as the back; underparts white; bill and feet black. Im., first plumage . — 
Sooty slate-color; linings of the wings and under tail-coverts whitish; wing- 
coverts, scapulars, upper tail-coverts, and tail-feathers more or less tipped 
with white. L., 17/00; W., 11*50; T., 7*25; B., 1*75. 
Range. — Tropical and subtropical coasts, except Pacific coast of S. 
Am. Breeds in Am. from s. Fla., La., and Tex. throughout the Bahamas, 
W. Indies, and tropical islands of the Atlantic; wanders n. rarely to Maine; 
winters from La. to Brazil and the Falkland Islands. 
Long Island, one record, Sept. 
Nest , a slight hollow in the sand. Egg, one, whitish or buff, speckled or 
spotted with chocolate, 2*00 x 1*45. Date, Tortugas, Fla., May 7. 
So far as I am aware the Sooty Tern breeds in the Atlantic States 
only in the Dry Tortugas of Florida, where about 19,000 nested when 
Watson made his important studies of their habits in 1907. They 
reach the island the last week in April and remain until about Septem- 
ber 1. The period of incubation is twenty-six days. The warning note 
is a shrill e-e-e-e) they also utter a squeaky quack and a nasal ker-wacky - 
wak, and other calls, being very noisy birds. 
Flocks of Terns seen darting actively and repeatedly into schools 
of small fish in West Indian waters are very apt to be of this species. 
1903. Thompson, J., Bird-Lore, V, 77-84. — 1905. Job, H. K., Wild 
Wings, 83-99. — 1908. Watson, J. B., Tortugas Lab. of Carnegie Inst., 
189-255. — 1908. Chapman, F. M., Camps and Cruises, 192-199. 
The Bridled Tern (76. Sterna ancethetus), a tropical species, has been 
taken once in Florida, but may prove to be a regular summer visitant to 
some of the Florida Keys. It resembles the Sooty Tern, but has the back 
sooty gray and the white of the forehead extends backward over the eye. 
77. Hydroehelidon nigra surinamensis (Gmel.). Black Tern. Ads. 
in summer. — Whole head and underparts, except under tail-coverts, black; 
back, wings, and tail slate-color; bill and feet black. Ads. in winter. — Fore- 
head, nape, and underparts white; back of the head black mixed with 
white; back, wings, and tail deep pearl-gray. Im.- — Similar to the pre- 
ceding, but upperparts more or less washed and tipped with brownish; 
sides washed with grayish. L., 10*00; W., 8*30; T., 3 30; B., 1*00. 
Range. — N. and S. Am. Breeds from sw. B. C., Great Slave Lake, s. 
Keewatin, and w. Ont. s. to inland lakes of Calif., Nev., Colo., n. Mo., and 
n. Ohio; winters from Mazatlan, Mex., to Panama, Peru, and Chile; e. coast 
of U. S. in autumn; accidental in Alaska, N. S., and N. B.; casual in the W. 
Indies and Bahamas. 
Washington, irregular T. V., Aug. 15-Sept. 22. Long Island, common 
T. V. July 21-Sept. 14. Ossining, casual, Sept. SE. Minn., common S. R., 
May 1-Sept. 1. 
Nest, of reeds, grasses,, etc., an islet in marsh or slough. Eggs , 2-3, grayish 
olive-brown, rarely whitish, heavily spotted and blotched with chocolate 
markings, frequently confluent about the larger end, 1*35 x *98. Date , 
Dodge Co., Wise., May 28; se. Minn., May 26. 
