more graceful Forster's have the black cap and nape in breeding plumage, but then they do

not have a white forehead; and then they have red-orange bills tipped with black; and the

winter and first summer Forster's have black bills . Also the wing-beats of the Forster's are

more leisurely and slow than these quick-beating flyers I was seeing. After hearing later

that a Sandwich Tern had been sighted, I briefly reviewed them as a possibility but ruled

them out too as they have black , tipped with yellow , bills and the white forehead is lacking

in breeding plumage and indistinct or less defined with black stripe extending from the nape

through the eye to the bill , narrowing at the bill. At far range I could see that they had white

forked tails , but so do others , e.g . , Forsters, Common and less so Caspian. They gave a

marked impression of being a "white" tern so that ruled out the first summer Black Tern,

which though it can look somewhat white in the underparts, shows black blotching on closer

inspection , and the wing color is deeper gray, with more darkness in the primaries .

Was I aware at the time of the observation that it was unusual: Yes , I was. I knew it was

on the "Casual Species" list , and highly unlikely in this area . Bent says (p . 279) "Said to

wander in summer north to Minnesota , Ontario and Nova Scotia, but many of the records

are doubtful" although he does accept reports of their being in Nebraska on April 2 in spring

migration; and Kansas and Missouri in fall migration- all pretty far from their usual coastal

habitat. When I first saw them, my immediate reaction was "Leasts, but what are they doing

here?" I did not know at this time, or for about a week after, that one had been reported to

the Hot Line, having been seen in roughly the same area , over the hill, about 3/ 4 mile to the

north.

Description: When I first saw them, I saw two small white birds acting like swallows. They

were smaller than Rock Doves flying nearby . As I got closer, stealing glances at them while

trying to keep the car on the road in light traffic, I could see their forked tails, their black

caps and nape, and that they had lighter bills (in other words no black, or deep red, or

orange). Mostly at this juncture , I watched them fly , with rapid wing-beats, and sharp,

darting turns, swallow-like. Once I got to a spot where I could use binocs , I could see the

black tips on their yellow bills, the gray mantle and upperparts with darker primaries, the

white underparts and tail , all clear white. The definitive black stripe through the eye,

extending from the black cap to the bill , and narrowing at the bill, set off the white forehead

for which the bird is named. That did it - I knew I was looking at Least Terns. Anne

Marie Plunkett, 2918 S.W. 15th Ave., Rochester, MN 55902.

Fall 1986

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