Bill about the length of the head, stout; wings longer than the tail, which is moderately forked; bill and feet black; upper part of the head and occiput greenish-black; sides of the head, fore neck, and all the lower parts, white; upper parts pale greyish-blue, edges of the wings whitish; primaries hoary on the outer web, deep grey on the inner, their shafts and those of the tail-feathers white; the tail of a paler tint than the back, and the outer feather nearly white.
Male, 14, 34.
Cosmopolite. In America, breeds from the mouth of the Mississippi to Connecticut. Not abundant. Migratory.
Marsh Tern, Sterna aranea, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 143.
Sterna aranea, Bonap. Syn. p. 354.
Marsh Tern, Sterna anglica, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 269.
Marsh or Gull-billed Tern, Sterna anglica, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 127.
431. 3. Sterna Cantiaca, Gmel. Sandwich Tern.
Plate CCLXXIX. Adult.
Bill considerably longer than the head, rather slender, black, with the tips yellow; inside of mouth deep blue; feet black; wings longer than the tail, which is deeply forked; upper part of head and hind neck bluish-black; sides of head, neck all round, and the rest of the lower parts white, the sides and breast tinged with pink; fore part of back, scapulars, and upper surface of wings pale greyish-blue; the tips and greater part of the inner webs of the scapulars and quills white, as are the rump and tail; the four outer quills blackish, but covered with light grey down on the outer webs, and over a considerable extent of the inner, their shafts white. Young, after the first moult, of a light greyish-blue on the upper parts, the feathers tipped and banded in an undulating manner with brownish-black; the upper part of the head and hind neck brownish-black mottled with white; quills as in the adult; tail grey, with irregular blackish markings towards the tips of the feathers; lower parts of a much lighter pale grey; bill and feet black.
Adult, 153/4, 333/4.
From Texas, during spring and summer, to the Floridas, where it breeds in great numbers. Never observed in any other part of the coast of America. Migratory.