along the channel coast.”' - Mr. H. E. (Strickland has pub*
lished in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History for
June, 1842, a notice of the simultaneous appearance of this
bird over a-large extent' of’, country in - the sami .^cinity.
Forty specimens procured on the 8 th and 9th were~taken to
one bird-preserver at Evesham. Mr. John-Evans, of Grove
House, Worcester, sent- me notice óf the numbe|||^^n^there,
and thirty-three specimens were deposited with one^bird-pr’&r
server.« Hundreds were seen at Cofton- Hall, near Broms-
grove, and Tewkesbury, -Hereford,' Devizes, and Trowbridge,
are places mentioned as having been visited by^cpnsiderabfe
numbers. The wind had been blowing hard -for „many^days-
from the east and N. E., but-Suddenly changed1 to, èhe -westward,
continuing ; to blow hard. .Somefe^&He specimens-had
not acquired the .perfect black head peculiar ;.t'§.: the- breeding-
season, but all were on their róuteifofiEerr riorthdrn. summer
quarters? their intended course having been interfered with.^y
the prevailing strong winds, i A few of thé Common Tern
were said to hav^-^eii;^ound with- them," but from \tf|||;num-
bers seen by Ornithologists who toe -well.acquainted-with species,
.the written descriptions I haVé received arid^some S^eéii^
onéria I -havefeeen that iwfrjsvsent utp.Jfo Bondon, I have no
doubt that the great _bulk of%tl|e flights jwére composed of
Arctic Terns. I have been-told that a "few öftóMs^ same
species breed on. the Scifty Islands every*yfearY but^;it|is npt
common generally on the south or . south-eastern coasts. ■ On
the coasts of Durham and Northumberland it is again plentiful.
, Sir William Jardine says, itels perhaps t!feS> m®8bcommon
species-in- Scotland, and abounds during the breeding-
season upon all the rocky islands id the Forth, from QueOii’sJ-
ferry to the Farmislands f^and Mr. Selby saysrof Sutherland,-
shire, that this bird -is abundant.yupon all^the Friths, and
upon the flat coast of Tongue. Mr. W. Hewitsonf; in
his work on the eggs 0'F British Birds,-says, the'Arctic Tern
breeds in great numbers on Coquet Island, a few miles south
Of the Fam Islands. The eggs, two or three in number, are
very much like those of the Common Tern in shape, colour,
and markings, but always smaller iii size, measuring one inch
sevéh^mel1 in length, by "one inch and one line in breadth.
The adult bird in' summer has the bill coral-red, the ex-
tremef’!pbint;^ oinetimès black ; forehead, crown, and nape
black'; back, wm|fs, and wmg-&h‘ver’ts pearl-grey.; outer web
of the first primary lead-grey-: taibcoverts and tail-feathers
almost' while;-the 'two longest tail-feathers on each side grey
on the ^u^r^ivebs; cheeks whiteif^chin and upper part of
neck in ffont,' a,n.d on the.sides ash-grey ;- breast and all the
‘under surfa^eCofi the body as dark a grey cplour as that of
thé back ; l%s, '’foe'^p^? their membranes orange-red. The
whole"length ofthe’ bird from the point of the bill to the end
oV4 nc middle^)1'short, fail-feather twelve inches and a half,
to1 fnë^énu? of the longest tail-featüèr’fwo inches'and a half
vmqre, ^or fifteen inches wholu’length ; from the wrist to the
of th e |fllg e s^ quill-feather ëleven inches; length of the
tarsus only ’half an inch.
A young bird of the year, nearly full grown, and measur-
'ihg^tfi-irtefen incliësj has the bill dull brown at the point, the
remainder red; forehead dull white; crown of the head
.mottled black and w h ||| back of the head and nape uniform
d lf ty black ; and wings pearl-grey; outer web of the'
first primary leaib-grey, inner webs of all the primaries light
grey,1 almost’ white IfllpuridariesY tertials, scapulars, and small
:wing4covtert’sytipped with white ;. .upper tail-coverts and tail-
feathers white',ythe -three long.tail-feathers on each side with
.outer webs of slate-grey ; throat, breast, and all the under
surface of the body and wings at this age nearly pure white ;
legs, toes, and membranes orange.
The winter-plumage of the adult bird has not been observed.
2 d 2