History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

144 BIRDS. PALMIPIDES. Sterna.belly, white, the breast with a rosy tinge, and the throat more or less grey.Above light grey, the rump white. Shafts of the quills white. Outer webof the first black towards the base, dusky at the tip, the inner web duskyat the shaft ; the next five feathers dusky the inner webs white at the base;and along the margin. Middle tail-feathers white, the two or three exterior— ones dusky on the outer web. Nest on rocks or gravel. Eggs 2, olive-brown,with dusky blotches. Young at first brownish-black, mottled with blackabove, below whitish, the chin dusky ; feet and bill pale reddish-white. Inthe same nest I have seen one of the young with the tip of the bill plain, andthe tip of the bill of the other dusky, as I have witnessed likewise in the oldbirds.The Sterna Arctica of Temminck (Orn. ii. 742., and Sabine, App. Parry'sFirst Voyage, ecu.), which he states as occurring on the coasts of this country,is, in my opinion, only a variety of the common tern. It differs chieflyin" the point of the bill not being black, and in the tarsus being 4 lines shorter.Having examined many individuals of the S. hirundo, in reference to alltheir external markings (and at the same time), I am satisfied that these distinguishingcharacters have too extensive a range of variation to warrant theestablishment of this species.236. L. nigra. Black Tern.— Webs of the toes much indented.Tarsus T8g th of an inch. Bill black.L. niger, and fissipes, Will. Orn. 2G9-70—L. fissipes, Linn. Syst.i. 228.Perm. Brit. Zool. ii. 547 L- nigra, Temm. Orn. ii. 749. — E, Scarecrow.—Breeds in the fens of England.Length 10, breadth 24 inches; weight 2\ ounces. Legs dusky red. Iridesbrown. Crown, head, neck, breast, and belly, greyish-black. A white spotunder the chin. Back, wings, and tail, deep ash, the outer feathers on eachside of the last white. In winter, the front, lores, throat, fore-neck, andbelly, are white. The female wants the spot on the /throat. — Nest in sedgyplaces, on the margin of pools. Eggs 3, olive-brown, blotched with brownand black.— Young in the winter dress ;the back and scapulars brown, withlight edges,237. S. minuta. Lesser Tern.— Bill black, the base andfeet orange. Tarsus |ths of an inch. Front white.L. piscator,Will. Orn. 2C9.—Sterna minuta, Linn. i.Syst. 228. Penn.Brit. Zool. ii. 546. Temm. Orn. ii. 752 — E, Eichel Bird.— InhabitsEngland along with the Common Tern.Length 8|, breadth 194 inches ; weight 2 ounces and 5 grains. Iridesdusky. Front, and a streak below the eye, white. Lores, crown, nape, andhind-neck, black ;back and wings bluish-grey ; rump, tail, and below, white.Shafts of the quills brown. Nest among shingle. Eggs 2, pale brown, spottedwith cinereous, and dusky. Young, with the front yellowish-white, headbrown, back and wings yellowish-brown.EXTINCT SPECIES.Birds seem to have experienced fewer revolutions in genera and speciesduring the different epochs of the Earth's history, than either quadrupeds orreptiles. The extinct species are few in number, and hitherto their charactershave not been sufficiently illustrated. In the calcareous slate of Stonesfield,the leg and thigh bones of birds have been detected, apparently belongingto a wader—Geol. Eng. and Wales, 208.