STERNA.
Terns with short legs, webbed feet, long wings, and forked tail; flight Swallow-like; usually met with in small parties on sea-coast, hovering or plunging for fish or picking small crustaceans or insects from the surface; breed generally in colonies on sea-coasts, islands, or inland lakes; eggs in depression near water, white, huffy ochreous, or dark buff, blotched or spotted with various shades of brown, black and violet grey.
Sterna anglica anglica Montagu. GULL-BILLED TERN. Fr. Sterne hansel ; Ger. Lachseeschwalbe ; Ital. Beccapesci inglese.
summer. Crown and nape glossy black ; upper parts including tail pale blue grey ; quills dark on inner side of inner web and tip of both webs ; beneath white ; under wing coverts and axillaries white. Bill, legs and feet black. Wing 297-328. Tarsus 33-35. Bill 34-37. In winter, crown is white occasionally streaked black, and in front of eye is a black spot. Young : like winter adults but with upper parts marked with brown arrow headed tips to feathers and crown more streaked ; bill, legs and feet reddish brown.
Breeds.—Small colony Jutland Coast, S. Spain, Portugal, S. France, S. Bavaria, Hungary, Greece, Black Sea Coasts, Caspian Coasts north to Urals, Tunis, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, also Asia Minor and through C. Asia to Mongolia. Migrates ; winters tropical Africa, chiefly north and cast ; and S. Asia to China and Malay Archipelago. Of rare occurrence in British Isles.
Sterna caspia caspia Pallas. CASPIAN TERN. Ger. RaubseeschNvalbe ; tlal. Rondine di mare maggiore.
? summer. Above blue grey, crown and nape black ; hind neck and underparts white. Bill massive, coral red, black at tip. Legs and feet black. In winter, crown is white streaked black. Wing 400-439. Tarsus 43-45, Bill 62-74 (H.). Young are like winter adults, but upper parts brown spotted, and bill is orange red, dark brown at tip.
Rreeds.—Sylt on Coast of Schleswig, Coasts of Sweden and Finland, Sardinia, E. Coast Adriatic, S. Spain, Tunis Coast, Coasts of Black and Caspian Seas, S. Russian salt steppes, and also widely in Asia, Africa and N. America. Of occasional occurrence outside its breeding range in Europe, north to Britain and Fames. Migrates ; occurs in winter in Africa, S. Asia, and in America south to Mexico.
Sterna bengalensis par (Mathews). ALLIED TERN. (" Sterna media" auct.).
9 Above clear grey, top of head black, occasionally a thin white line on forehead ; outer tail feathers white ; beneath white. Bill yellow. Legs and toes black, soles yellowish. In winter, top of head is black spotted white, and forehead white. Wing 293-316. Bill 51-57 (H.).
/frceds.—Coasts of Tunis, Syria, and Red Sea Has occurred on Coasts of N. Morocco, S. Spain, Sicily, Egypt, and Coast of E. Africa.
The typical race " S. b. bengalensis " ranges from Persian Calif to Malay Archipelago.
Sterna maxima albididorsalis Hartert. RovAL TERN. j 9 summer. Above pale grey, long and pointed nuchal feathers and crown black ; beneath white. Bill orange red. Legs and feet blackish, soles orange yellow. In winter, crown white with few black spots, occiput and nape black with white edges. Wing 355-366. Tarsus 31-34. Bill 62-72. Fork of tail (H.).
Breeds.—From Straits of Gibraltar south along Morocco Coast and West Coast of Africa to Benguela.
The typical race "S. m. maxima" is American.
Sterna sandvicensis sandvicensis Latham. SAND WICH TERN. Fr. Hirondelle de mer caugek ; Ger. Brandsee schwalbe ; Ital. Ileccapesci.
summer. Above pale blue grey, crown and nape glossy black, nape feathers long and pointed, tail white ; beneath white with faint rosy tinge ; inner web of 1st primary white, and next shaft a dark grey stripe, which in the middle is about as broad as outer web, the white extends to the tip. Bill black, tip for about to m.m. yellow. Legs and feet black. In winter, crown is white streaked black and there is a dark patch in front of eye. Wing 288-318. Tarsus 25-27. Fork of tail 68-80. Bill 51-59. In young : crown and nape freckled black and white, and upper parts are pale grey barred black.
Breeds.----British Isles, Denmark, W. German Coast, Holland, Channel Islands, Spain, Sardinia, S. Italy, Sicily, Tunis, Black and Caspian Seas. Migrates ; occurs in winter N. African Coast, Canaries (rare), and West Coast of Africa to Cape, also in Red Sea, Arabian Coasts and S. Asia to India.
Sterna hirundo hirundo L. COMMON TERN. Fr. Hirondelle de mer Pierre-Garin ; Ger. Flussseeschwalbe ; Ital. Rondine di mare ; Swett. Fisktarna.
6 ? summer. Above pale blue grey, upper tail coverts and tail white, outer webs of tail streamers dark grey ; crown and nape black ; beneath white, tinged pinkish grey ; chin, cheeks, under tail and wing coverts and axillaries white ; shafts of primaries white, 1st primary outer web black, inner web white and next shaft a dark grey stripe, in the middle of the feather 4-5 m.m. broad. Bill coral red, blackish at tip. Legs and feet coral red. In winter, forehead is white, crown black with white
streaks and in front of eye a dark patch, underparts white. Wing 250-270. Tarsus 19-21. Fork of tail 70-90. Bill 30-39. Young : above grey mottled and barred pale brown with buff tips, and on lesser wing coverts a greyish brown band ; beneath white.
dc. British Isles north to Shetlands ; Azores, Madeira, Canaries ; Continental Europe from N. Cape (but only rarely ahiw.e Arctic ('ircle) to Nlediterranean, I;lack and Caspian Seas ; N.W. Africa, Palestine, Asia Minor and through Asia to Mongolia ; also widely in N. America. Migrates ; winters in Africa south to Cape, S. Asia, and in America south to north shores of S. America.
Sterna paradisma Briinnich. ARCTIC TERN. Fr. Hirondelle de mer paradis ; Ger. Ktistenseeschwalbe ; Rondine di mare coda lunga ; Swett. Rodnabbad Tarna.
9 Very like "hirundo" but distinguished as follows : bill red without dark tip ; tarsus considerably shorter ; outer tail feathers longer ; underparts darker grey ; dark grey stripe on inner web of 1st primary narrower, 2-3 m.m. broad in middle, and paler, less contrasted. Wing 258-285. Tarsus 15-17. Fork of tail 90-12o. Bill 28-33.
l;reeds.—Circumpolar ; Spitzbergen, Franz Joseph Land, Ice land, Faroes, British Isles, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Lapland, N. Russia south to Dvina, and Coasts of North Sea south to Holland ; also N. Siberia, Arctic America, and Greenland. Migrates ; occurs in other parts of Europe on passage. Appears in our winter in Antarctic Seas, even to limit of open water, but not breeding there.
Sterna dougalli dougalli Montagu. ROSEATE TERN. Ger. Paradiesseeschwalbe.
d 9 summer. Above blue grey ; forehead, crown, and nape black ; beneath rosy white ; outer tail feathers much lengthened ; inner part of inner web of outer primaries white to tip. Bill slender, black, orange at base. Legs and feet orange red. In winter, forehead white and crown less glossy, mottled white, underparts white, bill black. Wing 226-24o. Tarsus 19-21. Fork of tail 1 to-135. Bill 35-39. Young are like winter adults, but with dark grey band on lesser wing coverts and central part of secondaries dark grey.
/;reeds.--13ritish Isles (very local), Jutland and N. Friesland Coasts (few), Coast of Brittany, Tunis, Madeira, and in greater numbers on American Atlantic Coasts. Migrates ; occurs in winter on Coasts of Africa ; occasionally wanders outside its breeding grounds in Europe. Birds from Indian Ocean and Australia have been separated as subspecies.
Sterna fuscata fuscata L. SOOTY TERN.
? Above black, forehead and underparts white, outer tail feather white. Bill, legs and feet black. Wing 275-305. Tarsus 22-25. Fork of tail ioo. Bill 39-46 (H.). In winter, crown is spotted white. Young are blackish brown with white tips on upper parts ; beneath paler brown, vent and under tail coverts slate. Bill, legs and feet brown.
Breeds.—W. Indies and S. Atlantic. Occasionally occurs in European Seas ; recorded Azores, Italy, France, Germany, British Isles.
Sterna minuta minuta L. LITTLE TERN. Fr. Sterne naive ; Ger. Zwergseeschwalbe ; Ital. Fraticello ; Sued. Smatiirna. ? summer. Above blue grey, rump, upper tail coverts, and tail almost white ; crown, nape, and lores black ; forehead white, about ro m.m. broad ; beneath white ; two outer primaries with their shafts (sometimes third also) darker than the others. Bill yellow, at tip black. Legs and feet light orange. In winter, more white on forehead, and streamers of tail shorter. 173-r So. Tarsus 15-17. Bill 27-31. Young : crown striped black, back huffish grey marked with blackish crescents, tail except outer tail feathers marked with black.
Breeds.—Europe generally from Petrograd in Russia, S. Sweden, Germany, and British Isles south to Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas ; N. Africa ; and also in W. Asia to N.W. India. Migrates ; occurs in winter in African and Indian Seas. The limits of the distribution of this form and of "S. m. saundersi" are not yet defined. The latter has the three outer primaries white and black, and bill and feet more brownish yellow. It has been reported from Egypt.
ANous.
Tail wedge-shaped and slightly bifurcated, 3rd outer feather longest; oceanic birds.
Anous stolidus stolidus (L.). NODDY TERN.
? Forehead whitish, crown pale grey, hind neck ashy grey, upper parts smoky brown tinged grey, tail and wings almost black ; below smoky brown, throat, under wing coverts, and axillaries grey. Bill black. Legs and feet reddish brown. Wing 260-286. Tarsus 25-27. Bill 43-46.
Breedr.—Coasts of Gulf of Mexico and S. Atlantic Islands. Of casual occurrence in European waters, recorded France and Britain.