Sterna stolida Linnæus, Syst. Nat. ed. 10 (1758), 1, 137.
Anous stolidus Saunders, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1896), 25, 136;
Blanford, Fauna Brit. Ind. Bds. (1898), 4, 325, fig. 73; Sharpe,
Hand-List (1899), 1, 137; Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1901), 1, 197;
McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 21.
Cagayan Sulu (McGregor); Palawan (Whitehead, Platen,
McGregor). Tropical and juxtatropical seas of the world.
"Adult male in breeding plumage.--Forehead nearly white at base
of bill, passing on the crown into lavender-gray, which deepens
on neck into lead-color; lores and orbital region black, with a
faint whitish superciliary streak; upper parts chiefly dark brown;
primaries, tail-feathers, and their shafts nearly black; under parts
dark brown on abdomen and breast, passing into deep lead-color on the
throat. Bill blackish; tarsi and toes reddish brown, fully webbed,
webs ochraceous. Length, about 406; culmen, 53; wing, 260 to 280;
tail, 152 to 178, the fourth feather from the outside the longest;
tarsus, 25; middle toe with claw, 39.
"Adult female.--Very similar but, as a rule, somewhat browner on the
shoulders and with less lead-color on the throat, slightly smaller,
and with a weaker bill.
"Immature.--Similar, but with even less lead-color, and a dark line
along the upper wing-coverts.
"Young.--Browner generally and paler; forehead and crown grayish brown;
below the forehead a narrow white superciliary line conspicuous by
contrast against the blackish lores.
"Fledgling (Ascension I.).--Umber-brown above and below; the whitish
streak above the lores very marked, and continuous round base of bill;
a slight grayish tint on forehead.
"Downy nestling.--One about five days old (British Honduras: May
12, 1862) has the forehead and crown dull white, lores blackish,
upper surface mouse-brown, nape and throat darkest, lower parts
paler. Another, only just hatched, is nearly uniform, sooty
brown." (Saunders.)
Subfamily LARINÆ.
Of larger size than the terns; body and bill heavier; tail square or
nearly so.
Genus LARUS Linnæus, 1758.
Characters same as those given for the Subfamily.
Species.
a1. Smaller; length, 400 mm.; wing, 300. ... ridibundus (p. 95)
a2. Larger; length, 600 mm.; wing, 450. ... vegæ (p. 97)