Egg-bird, or SOOTY TERN (Sterna fuliginosa), in the gull family, famous for its edible eggs and breeding societies or 'wide-awake fairs.' It abounds in the West Indies, and Ascension Island is one of its most frequented breeding-places. The adults have beautiful black and white plumage, but the young are of a light sooty colour. The nests are rough excavations, and there appears to be usually only one egg. This is of a pale-cream colour, sparsely marked with light-brown and purple tints. They are much valued, and the gathering of them in the spring months forms an important West Indian industry. Those of the Noddy (q.v.), of the Sandwich Tern, and other species are also gathered and eaten. See TERN.