S W I F T T E R N.
KtJPL'ELL/s IBM.
Sterna velox, KUPPKLL.
Sterna— P Velox—Swift.
T i n s species has occurred in Europe, in Hungary; and in Africa
is found from the Red Sea to the Cape of Good Hope.
In Ireland one of these birds was shot, as recorded by the late
William Thompson, Esq., of Belfast, in the 'Annals and Magazine of
Natural History,' at Sutton, near Dublin, in the end of December,
1816, and two others were seen in company with it at the time.
Like all the others of their class, they possess great powers of flight,
and their rapid wheelings and turnings are performed with every variety
of graceful attitude. It would seem almost paradoxical to attribute
superior qualities in this respect to one of these birds over others,
where all are so highly gifted, but the name assigned to this Tern
would appear to imply that it is 'kat exoken,' the swift one—the
swiftest of the swift, where all are swift—the lightest of the lightwinged,
where all are light-winged.
Male; length, one foot eight inches; bill, yellowish horn-colour.
Forehead, white; crown, neck on the back, and nape, black; chin,
throat, and breast, white; back, rather dark bluish grey. The wings
extend to the end of the longest feathers of the tail; greater and
lesser wing coverts, rather dark bluish grey; primaries, secondaries,
and tcrtiaries, grey; greater and lesser under wing coverts, white
Legs and toes, black; webs, black.