_Sterna Anaethetus_ Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun., Insubr., fasc. 2,
1786, p. 92. (Type locality, "In Guinea" = Panay, Philippine
Islands, _ex._ Sonnerat.)
_Sterna anaestheta_ Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62
(Pelew).
_Melanosterna anaestheta anaestheta_ Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds
Micronesia, 1922, p. 52 (Pelew).
_Sterna anaethetus anaethetus_ Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev.,
1932, p. 195 (Palau); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 678 (Bikar);
Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218 (Palau, Bikar).
_Sterna anaetheta anaetheta_ Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945,
p. 26 (Palau).
_Geographic range._--Breeds from Malaysia to Australia and Oceania
and north to Formosa. Ranges west to Ceylon and north to Japan. In
Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality not known; Marshall
Islands--Bikar.
_Measurements._--Four adult males from the Palau Islands have the
following measurements: wing 246-254, longest tail feather
147-177, shortest tail feather 71-72, exposed culmen 40-44, tarsus
21-23; one adult female: wing 266, exposed culmen 40.5, tarsus
22.5.
_Specimens examined._--Total number, 7 (4 males, 3 females) from
Palau Islands, AMNH--exact locality not given (Dec. 20).
_Remarks._--The Bridled Tern is known from the Palau Islands and from
Bikar in the Marshall Islands. In Micronesia, the species apparently
reaches the northeastern extent of its range. In the Palaus, Coultas
found the terns on small outlying islands. He observed them to fly to
sea early in the day and to return to the islands in the evening. Of the
seven specimens obtained by him, two males and one female had enlarged
gonads (Dec. 20).
=Sterna fuscata oahuensis= Bloxham