NATATORES. LARIDÆ.
T H E COMMON T E R N .
,, Hirondelle de mer pier
Penn. Zook-^rol. ii, n.
"Mcént. Ôraîfîf. riict.
Bitds, vol.
. Flem. Brit. An.
7 Selby, Brit. Ornith.-vol. ii.ij.7t68. >-
■^ïTENYNS^^^^irt. p'"2®|SP$
. ^ G&PjLd', JBirdsof Europe, pt.-isx,viifc'ff|f
regarin, T emm. Map. d’OrnitÉvol. ii. p. 740.
This species was long considered naoi^®6ifftia'on than ‘‘it
really ^ id b& ^ sfflih a tio n having ^»ro’Vfed that’tw'o othefi*®J-
tinct species of Terns very frequently hccupy the- ‘stlne stations
with it or localities v'ery^close; toa it,- ^aMo^which wefe
for a time confounded under the name of Common T e rn :
the great similarity in their habitfe,^ aMfcthe genenlr resemblance
in the birds while on the wing at a distance favouring
the supposition.
Although occasionally breeding on rocks or on banks of
shingle, forming a ^sea-beach, the Common Tern appears to
prefer building on the ground in marshes, or on small, low,
flat, sandy islands near thé sea, and sometimes on the margin
of large lakes. They are known to follow the course of rivers
going far inland ; and Mr. Jesse, in his Gleanings, mentions
an instance offline• (being shot in Bushy Park, others have
been seen and shot high up on the Thames more than forty
miles above Gravesend. They -possess. gréât powers of flight,
are rapid: and varied in then? motions, noisy and restless;
constantly?-on- the wing oij&r the water^ either amusing themselves.
<or looking for sniall fish upon which they subsist.
They lay ,two;r(%rthree^ eggs; 1 and are very careful both of
them and ‘theiHyeung, making many signs of anger and dis-
trgssiphen-their nestris approached too nearly. The eggs
are of à iyéllowish4rsjj§me <colour, blotched and spotted :wiih
ash-grey and dark red-d>fown ; the length one inch eight lines
•by .ome^inch’fwq lines* in breadth'. Lïfceothe other species of
this genus! the - Common Tern; which copies in May, leaves
..this ipantrydn September; and when ai|ipiife to take their departure,
Iftave. been ; seen, like other swallows not of the sea,
to‘ collect; iii'small flocks, andjwàit about as if desirous to increase,
their numbers before starting.
i,Mr. Win. Thompson says this specie's is widely distributed,
in Ireland. I t breeds in the Frith of Clyde, and Mr. Hey„-
sham mentions that ifis breeds-near the western extremity of
Roch cliff salt marsh, at no great distance from the junction
of the rivers Eden and therEsk in . Solway Frith, and a few
pairs on .Solway moss, and about these localities Mr. Iley-
sham has known this speeiesremain till the beginning of
^October. Priestholm isle, off the coast of Anglesey, and the
Skerries are also visited. : I t is .observed on the coasts of
Cornwall, Devonshire, and Dorsetshire. I t is said to be
rather numerous about Winchelsea, Dungeness, and Romney
Marsh. I have obtained it at the mouth of the Thames.