Object Status:
Unlocated
Accession Date:
August 8, 1787
Primary Source Reference:
Pennsylvania Herald and General Advertiser (Philadelphia), 8 Aug 1787
Additional Source Text:
"Which was driven by the storm, a few days since, to this city, and picked up in one of the streets, almost dead with fatigue. It is of a whitish colour, and in form resembles the pigeon, except that its feet are webbed, like those of a duck; and the size of the bird, though evidently of full growth, is no larger than that of a swallow."
Notes:
This bird may have been the least tern. They are often blown in by storms and are of small size, all white, with a forked tail (like a swallow).
Specimen Type:
Live (presumably eventually taxidermied/preserved)
Current Common Name:
Least tern
Current Scientific Name
Sternula antillarum
