Part 57

Geographic range.--Breeds in Oceania from the Hawaiian Group south to Fiji and the Tuamotus and west to the Moluccas. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality not known.

Remarks.--Finsch (1875:41) recorded specimens taken by Tetens, Peters and Kubary at the Palau Islands. Coultas obtained one immature male at sea south of the eastern Caroline Islands at 1° 25´ N and 159° E on October 19, 1930. The Spectacled Tern ranges throughout the tropical Pacific, spending considerable time at sea, and probably reaches most parts of Micronesia in its travels.

=Sterna anaetheta anaetheta= Scopoli

Bridled Tern

Sterna Anaethetus Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun., Insubr., fasc. 2, 1786, p. 92. (Type locality, "In Guinea" = Panay, Philippine Islands, ex. Sonnerat.)

Sterna anaestheta Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Pelew).

Melanosterna anaestheta anaestheta Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 52 (Pelew).

Sterna anaethetus anaethetus Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 195 (Palau); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 678 (Bikar); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218 (Palau, Bikar).

Sterna anaetheta anaetheta Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 26 (Palau).

Geographic range.--Breeds from Malaysia to Australia and Oceania and north to Formosa. Ranges west to Ceylon and north to Japan. In Micronesia: Palau Islands--exact locality not known; Marshall Islands--Bikar.

Measurements.--Four adult males from the Palau Islands have the following measurements: wing 246-254, longest tail feather 147-177, shortest tail feather 71-72, exposed culmen 40-44, tarsus 21-23; one adult female: wing 266, exposed culmen 40.5, tarsus 22.5.

Specimens examined.--Total number, 7 (4 males, 3 females) from Palau Islands, AMNH--exact locality not given (Dec. 20).

Remarks.--The Bridled Tern is known from the Palau Islands and from Bikar in the Marshall Islands. In Micronesia, the species apparently reaches the northeastern extent of its range. In the Palaus, Coultas found the terns on small outlying islands. He observed them to fly to sea early in the day and to return to the islands in the evening. Of the seven specimens obtained by him, two males and one female had enlarged gonads (Dec. 20).

=Sterna fuscata oahuensis= Bloxham

Sooty Tern

Sterna Oahuensis Bloxham, Voy. "Blonde," 1826, p. 251. (Type locality, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands.)

Sterna fuliginosa Finsch, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 18, 39 (Ponapé); idem, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (1878), p. 781 (Ponapé); idem, Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 295 (Ponapé); Takatsukasa and Kuroda, Tori, 1, 1915, p. 62 (Ponapé).

Onychoprion fuscata infuscata Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 51 (Ponapé).

Sterna fuscata nibilosa Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 195 (Ponapé); Yamashina, Tori, 10, 1940, p. 677 (Helen Reef); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 218 (Ponapé, Helen Reef).

Sterna fuscata oahuensis Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 25 (Micronesia).

Geographic range.--Breeds from the Hawaiian, Marcus, and Bonin islands south to the Phoenix Islands and Micronesia. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Asuncion; Palau Islands--Helen Reef; Caroline Islands--Ponapé.

Specimens examined.--Total number, 1 unsexed from Mariana Islands, AMNH--Asuncion (Jan. 18).

Remarks.--The systematic position of the Sooty Tern in Micronesia is uncertain; in using this name I am following Peters (1934:338), who comments that the species "is badly in need of revision." Coultas obtained one immature female at O° 90´ S and 159° 50´ E, a position south of the eastern Caroline Islands. The bird is tentatively placed in the subspecies S. f. oahuensis. The Sooty Tern probably does not breed in large numbers in Micronesia, unless it be in the northern Marianas. Bryan (1903:97) reports that this species is very abundant at Marcus Island, which is north and east of the Marianas.

=Sterna albifrons sinensis= Gmelin

Least Tern

Sterna sinensis Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 608. (Type locality, China, ex Latham.)

Sterna albifrons Marshall, Condor, 51, 1949, p. 221 (Saipan).

Geographic range.--Found on coastal areas from Korea and China south to New Guinea. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands--Saipan.