, grayish or greenish buff color and are spotted with brown and
lilac. Size 1.80 x 1.30. Data.--Northampton Co., Va., May 28, 1882.
Three eggs laid on a mass of seaweed on marsh above tide water.

64. CASPIAN TERN. _Sterna caspia._

Range.--Like the preceding species, this bird is nearly cosmopolitan in
its range, in North America breeding from the Gulf Coast and Texas
northward to the Arctic Regions.

This beautiful bird is the largest of the Tern family, being about 22
inches in length, with the tail forked about 1.5 inches. The bill is
large, heavy and bright red; the crest, with which this and the next
three species are adorned, is black. The mantle is pale pearl and the
under parts white. These Terns sometimes nest in large colonies and then
again only a few pairs will be found on an island. In Texas, the
breeding season commences in May, it being later in the more northern
breeding grounds. They may be regarded as largely eastern birds, as
while they are common in the interior of the country, they are rarely
found on the Pacific Coast. Two or three eggs constitute a complete set;
these are laid on the sand in a slight hollow scooped out by the birds.
They vary from gray to greenish buff, marked with brown and lilac. Size
2.60 x 1.75. Data.--Hat Island, Lake Michigan, July 1, 1896. No nest.
Two eggs in a hollow in the gravel. Fully a thousand terns nesting on
about one acre. Collector, Charles L. Cass.

[Illustration 052: Pale greenish buff.]
[Illustration: Grayish buff.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]

Page 51

65. ROYAL TERN. _Sterna maxima._

Range.--Temperate North and South America, breeding in the United States
locally from Texas and the Gulf States northward to the northern
boundary of the United States.

The Royal Terns nest in great numbers on the coasts and islands on the
South Atlantic and Gulf States and in the marshes of southern Texas.
Like the former species they lay two or three eggs in a hollow on the
bare sand. The eggs are the same size but differ in being more pointed
and having a lighter ground and with the markings more bold and
distinct. Size 2.60 x 1.70.

66. ELEGANT TERN. _Sterna elegans._

Range.--Pacific Coast of South and Central America; north to California
in summer.

A similar bird to the Royal Tern, but easily distinguished by its
smaller size, slender bill, and more graceful form. In the breeding
plumage the under parts of these Terns are tinged with rosy, whic