(GREAT TERN.)
+Sterna maxima+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 147; _iid. P. Z. S._
1871, p. 567; _Saunders, P. Z. S._ 1876, p. 655, et 1882, p. 521.
_Description._--Crown and crested nape black; neck, lores, throat,
and underparts pure white; black pale grey; quills darker grey, with
white on most of the inner webs; tail pearl-white; bill orange; legs
and feet black: whole length 18·0 inches, wing 14·5. _Young_: darker
on upper parts.
[Illustration: Head of _Sterna maxima_. (P. Z. S. 1871, p. 568.)]
_Hab._ Coasts of America from Massachusetts to La Plata, and northwards
to California.
This large Tern seems to occur on the Rio Paraná, according to Azara.
It is certainly found in Southern Brazil, where Mr. Rogers obtained a
series of specimens now in the collections of Messrs. Salvin and Godman
and of Mr. H. Saunders.