and their narratives have been supplemented by the observations
of Mr. D. Gill, F.R.A.S., and Sergeant-major
Unwin, R.M., in a paper by Mr. G. Penrose (Ibk, 1879,
p. 277), There are three colonies or ‘ fairs ’ ; and it would
appear that the birds arrive at very , uncertain intervals. ;?'In
1875, as Mr. Unwin informed'the Editor, the birds remained
months longer than usual, owing to an unseasonable downpour
of rain which flooded the breeding-grounds and bailed
thousands of young; the birds then left about May and were
back in August. In 1877 they made their-first appearance
in October, and fresh arrivals were noticed for the next two
months, jf The name I Wide-awake ’ is supposed tor express
their noisy cawing cry.
Audubon, speaking of the Tortugas, says fe^^The ■ Sooty
Tern never forms a nest of any sort, but deposits,-its three
eggs in a slight cavity which it scoops in the sand under the
trees. Several individuals which had not commenced'1 lading
their eggs, I saw scratch the sand with their feet, in'the
manner of the common fowl, while searching for.food,. In
the course of this operation they frequently seated themselves
in the shallbw; basin try how I t fittMi their, form, or find
Out what was still wanted to ’ensure their/ comfort.” Gilbert,
as quoted -in Gould’s ^ BirdsfoLAustralia,’ expressly
states that each bird limits-itself:'. $1 the incubation of >a
single egg, and so- say all. the authorities on the, Ascension
breeding:places ; nevertheless,/the,jeE^itor has a : photograph
of the principal fair,’ inrwhich two eggs/are- shown
side., by side in the same h@llovl; .and:Mr. Hume’s .experience
at the Laccadives is, that two" and threeheggs are,;a
usual number. At.Ascension the] eggs are so -constantly
taken for eatiUg,—2Qf) dozen be.irig soinetimess collected in a
morning,—that the naturaLeorfiplemeUt can hardly be. ascertained
with certainty," especially asdt is well known that the
same bird will, if robbed, lay several times.'- The eggs,®asear
Sure, on the average 2 by l^ jflg ; they-are "of a pale (©ream
ground-polaur; sometimes' with a bluish tint, blotched With
purplish-brown and chestnut-red; the shell is smo/oth, in
which respect it differs strikingly from the egg of the -Noddy,
a bird often found breeding in the same localities—in which
■the /shell is of a rough .calcareous nature. The yolk-of. the
egg of the Sooty Tern isdof.’.aribh saffron-yellow.. ‘
-liAs... soon as the youttg^eah fly, both they and théirrparents
go away to sea. Their /power of sustained flight? is : very
great, and even when catering-for the young the:old birds
must travel great distances, for Mr. Gill caught a bird with
|tis hand, with a small fish in *Its. béakx,afcga • specie /quite
foreign, to Ascension waters.
In the adult the beak is black; the forehead white; ending
in a concave-.curve with a point over eaphrpye’; a.Mack streak
from the base of the' bilL-to the eye ; top and sides' of the '-head,
Jocciput and-nape; black ; upper surface of the/bodiy and wings
dpjownish spôty-black ; tail deeply forked,shf - the Sarpe dark
colour as the back,.except the outer webs, and basal) portions of
the outside tail-feathers, which are white p’chièÿ cheeks, sides
and front of-the neck, breast, belly,'-ùndèrr surface of the
wings, under parts of -the body, under tailncoveris', and base
of the tajl-feathers, whiter under .surface:!of, the!lengthened
^portion of the tail-feathers ash-grey; legs, toes,!and interdigital
membranës, which extend to the/i extremities, black.
The wh,®Ie.- length of the bird is about sixteen, inches ; wiflg,
from flexure,/-eleven inches. In birds which are not fully
adult the outer wpbs of the long-tail-feathers are more or
less umber-brown.
In the immature bird the plumage is/of a nearly uniform
"^sooty-brown,, lighter on the under _ wing^coverts ; and the
feathers of the upper parts are tipped with white ; bill and
-legs dark brown. The young in down, hfca few . days old,
§ls brownish-grey above and white on the under parts ;;„but
brown feathers soon make their appearance on the flanks, and
extend over'the entire breast and abdomen’; .the feathers ^ f
r$he back afe then blackish-brown, broadly tipped with white.
The Smaller JfopTY Tern, Sterna ancestheffi,: Scopoli,
.-frequently known as Sterna, panayensis, is believed by the
"Editor to have straggled to one qf the lightships at the
mouth of the Thames, in September 1875. Both Mr. Bid