Plate CCCXIX. Adult and Young.
Bill about the length of the head, slender, yellowish-orange, with the
tips black, but the extreme points horn-colour; feet light orange-red;
wings an inch or more longer than the tail, which is deeply forked; on
the forehead a triangular white patch, extending to over the middle of
the eye; upper part of head and nape, and loral space, deep black;
sides of head, fore neck, and lower parts pure white; back and wings
very pale bluish-grey; first two quills with the outer web
greyish-black, and rather less than half of their inner web of the
same colour, the rest white, extending to about half an inch from
their extremities; tail white in summer, of a paler tint than the back
at other times. Young, when fledged, with the bill greenish-black, all
the lower parts dull greyish-white, as are the upper, including the
tail, the hind part of the head streaked with dusky, on the back and
rump the feathers with a curved marginal band of greyish-brown;
primary quills greyish-brown, the outer two darker; tail even, each
feather narrowly margined with greyish-white.
_Adult_, 8-3/4, 18-3/4.
Breeds from Galveston along the shores to Labrador. Not mentioned as
found in the Fur Countries. Returns southward, and passes beyond Texas
in autumn. Extremely abundant at times on the Great Lakes, as well as
the Ohio and Mississippi.
Least Tern, Sterna minuta, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. vii. p. 80.
Sterna minuta, Bonap. Syn. p. 355.
Silvery Tern, Sterna argentea, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 280.
Least Tern, Sterna minuta, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 175.
* Tail graduated.