STERNA HIRUNDO, Linn. ?

Common Tern.

Hirundo marina, Ray, Syn., p. 131.
Sterna major, Briss. Orn., tom. vi. p. 203, pl. 19. fig. 1.
—— hirundo, Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 227 ?
— fluviatilis, Naum. Isis, 1820 (Temm.).
—— marina, Eyton, Rare Brit. Birds, p. 55.
Aydrocecropis hirundo, Boie, Isis, 1844, pe 179:

 

Wuerner Linneus did, or did not, take his description of Sterna hirundo from an example of the present
species is a question which, in my opinion, can never be satisfactorily determined ; under these circum-
stances, then, it will surely be better to keep the term for our well-known bird, the more so as it is known
by that appellation to every British ornithologist, and the name has been retained for this species by
Mr. Elliott Coues in his recently published and elaborate ‘Review of the Terns of North America.’
I make this remark because I am aware that, in retaining the name of Avrundo for our Common Tern, I
am running counter to the opinion of some living ornithologists, who are inclined to believe that this
appellation should be assigned to the Serna macrura of Naumann, the Arctic Tern of British authors.

Both the Common and the Arctic Terns are abundant on our coasts; still they seldom intermingle : at
one season of the year they may be observed fishing some distance out at sea, at others breeding on the
great beds of shingle and sand bordering our coasts at the mouths of rivers and inland waters. The
Common Tern quits the open ocean in the month of May, for the purpose of reproducing and nurturing its
young, and then resorts to shingly beaches such as those at Dungeness, Pevensey, Selsey, and Weymouth,
on our southern coasts, and all similar situations on the west, from the Bristol Channel to the Solway Frith,
and occasionally high up the larger rivers. It also breeds here and there all round the coasts of Ireland.
I might mention hundreds of other localities, from the mouth of the Thames to Penzance and. the Scilly
Islands, and thence to Holyhead, and onward again by the flat shores of Lancashire to the Isle of Skye ; but
it has always been an object with me in the present work to generalize rather than to enter mto the minute
details that may be found in the numerous works which have been written on our native birds.

When the breeding-season is over, the Common Tern returns again to all parts of the open sea that are
within soundings, and when the cold weather sets in proceeds to the warmer countries of Portugal, Spain,
the neighbourhood of the Mediterranean, and the coasts of Africa generally. It is believed that under no
circumstances does it go so far north as the Arctic Tern ; it is, in fact, a more southern species, and conse-
quently loves warmth, whether it be found on the shores of Europe or those of Asia: for it is an inhabitant
of both quarters of the globe; but it seems to be less numerous in the latter. Dr. Jerdon informs us
that it appears to be rare in Southern and Central India, but, according to Dr. Adams, is common on the
Indus and the rivers of the Punjab, and also on the lakes of Cashmere, and that it does not breed, so far as is
known, in India. He procured it, on one occasion only, on the Lake of Ootacamund, on the Neilgherries.

Easy and graceful in all its actions does the Common Tern appear as it comes in from the sea towards
the intruder who has strolled out upon the heated shingle, where its two or three eggs are deposited.
Its lovely grey back and wings so closely harmonize with the ele blue of the heavens, that, were
it not for its silvery under surface, it would scarcely be noticed : if the weather be lowery, and black
clouds form a background to the scene, the bird becomes a more conspicuous object ; but be the weather
what it may, down it comes, uttering its loud, barsh craking scream. If the eggs be approached, it
manifests much uneasiness, and with repeated flaps of its great wings makes many singular and different
turns—at one moment near at hand, at another at a distance, as if inviting you to follow. If it be so
fortunate as to hatch its young, it manifests still greater anxiety, and even becomes bold in their defence.
Still, with all these actions, it appearance is more that of a fairy spirit than a bird, and those who have never
visited its breeding-ground on the sea-shore can form no idea of the strange feelings called up by the els
blages of these birds, and the monotonous rolling of the breakers, ang the other adjuncts of the scene. To
and from the sea do these old birds constantly go forth in search of food for their little progeny, sometimes
far out in the bay, at other times they meet the shoal of fry neare
_ all of which are acceptable to the growing young. At first, or in the
autifully marbled with moss-like brown and buff; but this costume
; take its place; and the birds now present an

rat band; the shallows also afford them

a supply of sand-eels and crustaceans
downy state, these little chicks are very be
is very soon thrown off; white feathers, barred with brown,
ants which frequently grow around and even upon

PaGtiE { . . ering pl
appearance almost as attractive as some of the flowering | Mam -
f Terns and Ring-Dotterels, Dungeness in homney

1 bi sy are Ivine. That great nursery 0
the shingle on which they are lying. That great y