Page:The birds of America, volume 7.djvu/150

110 attention to the tarsi and feet, might readily confound them together. Yet even at this early age, there are strong indications of the bluish tint on the under parts. The longest tail-feathers at this period do not extend more than two inches beyond the rest; the upper parts of the body are mottled with brown, as in all the other species, and in Gulls. The mantle of this, as of all other Terns, assumes its permanent hue before any part of the wings. On the 5th of August, in Labrador, the young birds were gambolling along with their parents, over the shores of Bras d'Or Harbour, and when we left that country the Terns still remained, so that I am unable to state at what particular period they commence their journey southward.

The notes of this species resemble the syllables creek, creek, and are often repeated while the bird is on wing. During autumn it follows the sinuosities of the shores of the bays and inlets, ascending against the ebb, and returning to meet the tide, which enables it to procure its food in succession while it keeps on its course. I have only farther to mention a curious fact, which is, that all the Terns which breed in the northern parts of the United States, and in regions still nearer the pole, sit closely on their eggs, while the small species that breed to the southward incubate only during night, or in rainy weather.

Sterna arctica, Bonap. Syn., p. 354.

Sterna arctica, Arctic Tern, Swains, and Rich. F. Bor. Amer., vol. ii. p. 414. Arctic Tern, Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 275. Arctic Tern, Sterna arctica. And. Orn. Biog., vol. iii. p. 366. Male, 15£, 32.

Along the coast of the Atlantic in autumn and winter, sometimes as far as New Jersey. Common in Maine, Nova Scotia, and Labrador, where it breeds in multitudes, as well as on the Magdalene Islands, and on the shores of the Arctic Seas. Migratory.

Adult Male in spring.

Bill about the same length as the head, slender, tapering, compressed, nearly straight, very acute. Upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly arched, the ridge rather broad and convex at the base, narrow towards the end, the sides convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip acute. Nasal groove extended beyond the nostrils nearly to the tip; nostrils basal, linear, direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle extremely narrow, very acute, extending beyond the middle, the dorsal line straight, the sides erect and slightly convex, the sharp edges inflected, the tip extremely acute. Head of moderate size, oblong; neck of moderate length; body very slender. Feet veiy small; tibia bare for a considerable space; tarsus