174 A M E R I C A N A VOSKT.
23J extent of wings 5 wing from flexure ty tail-Sjf bill along -theridge
3 | 5 bare part of {he tibia'¿A 5 tarsus 3 | ; hind toe and'claw „ S
middle toe and elaw 1H; breadth of foofWended 2f Weight 16| oz.
The Female is similar to the tut sojnewhat smaller
Young in winter. Plate CCCXVIII. Fig. 2
The young i | winter is similar to the adplt, hut with tW head.and
neck white, the .dart colours of a browner tint. . .,.,....., ^
Length to Sdflftai l IS inote, te end of wings 18j,; extent of
wings 30J. Weight 13 oz.
In structure the. Avosliw are si,..Urn- to. the Numcnii and Totaui
In an adult female the tongue is very short in proportion to the lengtfi
• the hill, s l r ® J r ^ i P J l t f « ^ " * ^ thc
with a few M M fflB slender,, tapering to a point, hprny on, the
back, and flattened afcjwf On the palate are two longitudinal
| bSnt I W The posterior pf j § WMBM
twelfths long, papillate on the edgis. The oesophagus is 7 inches and
9 twelfths long, inclines!, the right side, and when tfie
becomes posterior atthe m i d d l e , i n the Herons and other long-necked
m 1 its diameter I twelfths at the upper part, dilated to. 8 twelfths
previous to its — i • the thorax. The proTentriculus is 1 inch
](m„. alld 7 twelfths in diameter; its gkndule^ylindrkal, 1 twelfth
low; The stomach is a gizzart of moderate strength, .oblong, «eh
in length,! 10 twelfths in breadth, its right lateral muscle 4 twelfths
thiol It, con tents wen, remains of small shells. Its inner membrane
of moderate thickness,, hard, longitudinally rugous, and deeply %ged
with red." 'The — — long, and 4 twelfths ^ d i ame t e r ;
&e rectum | | r o n f » ^ e S l0*g ^ ^
Mameter 2 twelfths. • |H
In another individual t £ intestine is 3 feet 9 inches tong; one of
' i g coeca i mefekfeothov^; the stomal 1 | b y ^ J t s contents
small shell-fish and fragments of quartz,
The trachea IS 6i inches long.; its rings extremely thin and.unossi-
— I number, its diameter 3| twelfths, nearly uniform throughout,'
but rather narrower in fte middle. The lateral muscles axe very
thin. The bronchi are short, of about 10 rings.
p 1® J
LEAST TERN.
STERNA MINCTA, Linn,
P L A T E (X.'CKIX. AIIUI-T AMI VOL SO.
Svlpim.ikk bird of the waters, how delightful has it been to me to
gaze on thy gliding movements,- on the fannings of thy gentle wings,
on the delicate silvery glanSe of thy soft and suttiny'bosom, as thou
earnest from distant and unknown shores, when the winter had passed
away, ani the mild, breezes of earff stofimSr blew around thee, and
thou soughtert a plac« of safety in which to sojourn for a time. That
frail frame of thine must have suiiored many a hardship. Fronting
that last damp and chillMg blast, I have se« thee gathering up all
thy little strength to force thy way; and when t ^ f u r y of the tempest
assailed thee, wert thou not glad'to seek for refuge under yonbold'head-
• land ! Ah, deny it not, for I have- seen the delight expressed by thee,
when after awhilo, returning calm and sunshine revived thee, and thou
spreadest thy wings anew, to-ramble gaily over the still turbulent wa- .
tern Well knowewt. thou, heaven taught, each bar and shallow along
the desolate shore which thou skktest plotless; soon Shalt thoti reach the
Ttasven where last summer smiled on thee and thy brood; and there shalt
thou gracefully alight by the side of one whose love is all to the.e:
Asm© account of this species exists in thc Fauna Boreali-Americana, it
is to bo supposed that il is not met with beyor.d the western shores of Labrador.
whort' however I fornld it in abundance: and breeding, in the beginning
of. June 1S331 On the 11th of August following I observed theni
at Newfoundland, moOTgsouthward in detachedpartieS of bid and young,
against a strong breeze, and uttering- their clamorous cries. Again,
in the end of April 183-7, hundreds of pairs were breeding on the islands
of Galveston Bay in Texas, the numerous specimens which I then ex-
Mined exhibiting no difference from those obtained in Labrador and
¡n our Middle Districts. May, once, in- the middle of June, white
wading through the quick-sands of Bayou Sara in Louisiana, I eame
to a high-and dry sand -bar where I picked up several eggs belonging
to three pairs of birds of this species, although the distance was about
two hundred miles from the sea in a direct line. I have at various times