. The sportsman's British bird book . er ittravels to Africa, whereit is found a longdistance down boththe west and the east coast. In the western hemisphere it is re-placed by the American black tern {H. siirinaviensis), which is adarker bird with black feet ; from the other two representatives of thegenus, of which, as noticed below, stragglers occasionally reach ourislands, it is readily distinguished by the grey colour of the underwing-coverts of the adult in summer-plumage. In addition to thisspecial feature, the black tern in summer-dress may be recognisedat a glance by the dull lead-gre
. The sportsman's British bird book . er ittravels to Africa, whereit is found a longdistance down boththe west and the east coast. In the western hemisphere it is re-placed by the American black tern {H. siirinaviensis), which is adarker bird with black feet ; from the other two representatives of thegenus, of which, as noticed below, stragglers occasionally reach ourislands, it is readily distinguished by the grey colour of the underwing-coverts of the adult in summer-plumage. In addition to thisspecial feature, the black tern in summer-dress may be recognisedat a glance by the dull lead-grey tone of the plumage, relieved onlyby the white of the lower flank-feathers and under tail-coverts, andthe pale grey under wing-coverts; the beak being black and thelegs purplish brown. In winter the forehead, face, neck, and under-parts are white, as in the white-winged whiskered species at the sameseason. In length the black tern does not exceed about 9^ birds resemble the adults in winter, but have the feathers of. ) WARD STUDIOS BLACK TERX (SUMMER). i66 GULL GROUP the upper-parts mottled with brown. In the chick the general ground-colour is huffish with a black stripe down each side of the bod), ablack line above the eye, and black mottlings on the back and head. Romney ^larsh in Kent, Crowland Wash and other parts of thefen-district of Lincolnshire, and the Broads and other swampy districtsof Norfolk, were the favourite British breeding-haunts of the blue dove,as the species was localh- called. In the first half of the last centurythe nests of this handsome bird might have been found by hundredsin some of the districts mentioned, and more especially amid the alderswamps of Norfolk ; but after the year 1853, by which time it hadalready become scarce, it had practically ceased to breed in the last-named county, although a nest is recorded from there so late as theyear 1S58. Nowada\s, it is seen in the British Islands only as aspring and autumn visitor, mainl
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