. A popular handbook of the birds of Canada and the United States [microform]. Oiseaux; Birds. 3l6 SWIMMERS. W-' flying, the Tern exhibiu uncommon watchfulncH; beating; the aii with a iteady wing, and following the track uf the veaiel with an eauy flight, thi* bird may be obaerved, with quick eye and moving head, minutely 'tanning the haunt* oiid motioni of its finny prey. At the approach of winter it retiro Douth of the limit! of the Union. In America thU Tern is chiefly confined to the Eastern Pro- vince, and ii a common bird throughout iu FORSTER'S TERN. Sterna roRsniu. Chas. Above,
. A popular handbook of the birds of Canada and the United States [microform]. Oiseaux; Birds. 3l6 SWIMMERS. W-' flying, the Tern exhibiu uncommon watchfulncH; beating; the aii with a iteady wing, and following the track uf the veaiel with an eauy flight, thi* bird may be obaerved, with quick eye and moving head, minutely 'tanning the haunt* oiid motioni of its finny prey. At the approach of winter it retiro Douth of the limit! of the Union. In America thU Tern is chiefly confined to the Eastern Pro- vince, and ii a common bird throughout iu FORSTER'S TERN. Sterna roRsniu. Chas. Above, pcirl gray, paler on the wingt and tail; crown and nape black; beneath, white; ,bill orange, the terminal third blackish; legs and feet orange; clawa black. Length I3 to 15 inches. In wint-ir the head and neck are nhite, the n;>ue is tinged with gray, and on the side of the head is a broad black band. NtsL On a marshy margin of lake or atream, or on a grassy island; loosely made of reeds and sedges, and I'ned with grass. Eggs. 3-3; varying from pale bdff* or olive to olive brown, marked l^rown and pale lilac; average size about X Nuttall wrote in a note to the Common Tern that the bird described by Richardson as Sitma hirtmdo appeared to be a distinct species, distinguished by the pearl-gray tail and other char acters, and he proposed for this probable new species the name of Sterna forsteri, in honor of the eminent naturalist and vojaser who first suggested these distinctions. Having been recognized by naturalists as a valid species, the name thus proposed has been adopted for it. In appearance, as in manners, the bird is very similar to the Common Tern, though the present species displays a decided pre- ference for a grass-covered nesting site, and is inclined to remain near fresh water. It is a rare bird along the Atlantic coast, excepting at Cobb's Island, off Virginia, but is abundant on the inland water nf the west, north to Manitoba. A number nest every yea
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1903
