BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF WOODS HOLE AND VICINITY. 



777 



.Sterna caspia Pallas. Caspian tern. 



Howe and Allen, 1901, p. 25. 



Nantucket, taken several times in September. 

 H. & A. Woods Hole, rare. Edwards. A 

 female specimen in Mr. Edwards's collection 

 dated September 20, 1891. 



Sterna maxima Boddaert. Royal tern. 



Howe and Allen, 1901, p. 27; G. M. Allen, 1909, 



p. 17. 

 Nantucket, a pair taken July, 1874. H. & A. 



Chatham, July 29, 1889. Allen. Seen by 



Mr. Edwards at Muskeget several different 



summers. 



Sterna sandvicensis acuflamda (Cabot). Cabot's 

 tern. 



G. M. Allen, 1909, p. 17. 



Chatham, August, 1865; Monomoy Island, Octo- 

 ber 2, 1888; an "accidental visitor." 



Sterna hirundo Linnaeus. Common tern. 



Howe and Allen, 1901, p. 26; Jones, 1906, p. 35; 

 G. M. Allen, 1910, p. 19. 



This tern is extremely abundant throughout the 

 region from May i or earlier to the middle of 

 September. Mr. Edwards states that young 

 birds sometimes linger till January i. Two 

 winter records (January 17 and February 20) 

 cited by Allen. The local nesting grounds 

 are situated at Penikese, Weepecket Islands, 

 the Muskeget group, Katama Bay (on ocean 

 side) and probably at No Mans Land. Jones. 

 From a consideration of these, Dr. Jones 

 estimated the number of common terns present 

 locally in 1904 as being somewhere in the neigh- 

 borhood of 100,000. The average number of 

 eggs in one nest is three (two to six). These 

 are laid in the sand or among driftweed, but no 

 regular nests are constructed. The young are 

 fed principally upon the sand launce (Ammo- 

 dytes americanus), of which they may eat as 

 many as 10 in one day. This fish likewise j 

 appears to form the principal article of diet 

 for the adult. (See account by Jones, 1906.) 

 Sterna paradisea Briinnich. Arctic tern. 



Howe and Allen, 1901, p. 26. 



Nantucket, not very common. H. & A. Woods 

 Hole, occasional. Edwards. Weepeckets, 

 August 4, 1903. Jones. 



Sterna dougalii Montagu. Roseate tern. 



Howe and Allen, 1901, p. 27; Jones, 1906, p. 43. 



Abundant throughout the region from May to 

 September. In 1904, Dr. Jones estimated the 

 number present in this region as approximately 

 40,000. He found nesting places at Penikese, 



Sterna dougalii Continued. 



Weepecket and Muskeget Islands. The aver- 

 age number of eggs found in a nest was two 

 (rarely three), and these were nearly always 

 laid among vegetation. As in the case of S. 

 hirundo, the young are fed upon Ammodytes . 



Sterna aniillarum (Lesson). Least tern. 



Howe and Allen, 1901, p. 28. 



Nantucket, fairly common. H. & A. Katama 

 Bay is the nesting place of a small colony. 

 Jones. Reported as nesting likewise at Peni- 

 kese and Muskeget, but Dr. Jones found no 

 evidence of this. A female specimen in Mr. 

 Edwards's collection dated September 14, 

 1893; a male, July 20, 1894. Formerly much 

 more common than at present. Edwards. 



Sterna fuscata Linnaeus. Sooty tern. 

 G. M. Allen, 1909, p. 20. 



Chatham, September, 1877; Newport, 1877. 

 "Accidental visitor." 



Hydrochelidonnigrasurinamensis (Gmelin). Black 

 tern. 



Howe and Allen, 1901, p. 25. 



Nantucket, "not very abundant, August usu- 

 ally."- H. &. A. Woods Hole, fairly common 

 in fall as a migrant. Edwards. 



Rhynchops nigra Linnaeus. Black skimmer. 



Howe and Allen, 1901, p. 28; G. M. Allen, 1909, 

 p. 22. 



Falmouth and Woods Hole: 2 records. H. & A. 

 Weepecket Islands, July 16, 1903. Jones. 

 "Said to have bred about 1830 at Muskeget 

 Island." Allen. Formerly common at Nan- 

 tucket; likewise seen in Vineyard Sound; 

 none seen lately. Edwards. 



Family PROCELLARIID^. 



Puffinus borealis Cory. Cory's shearwater. 



Howe and Allen, 1901, p. 22. 



Nantucket, fairly common some years; Buzzards 

 Bay, abundant during the fall of 1886. H. & A. 

 Vicinity of Woods Hole. V. N. Edwards, 

 L. Jones, I. A. Field. Summer and fall; 

 "generally seen on the ocean or near it in the 

 Sound."- Jones. Male specimens in Mr. Ed- 

 wards's collection dated August 20, 1885, and 

 August 29, 1888. 



Puffinus grams (O'Reilly). Greater shearwater. 

 Male specimens in Mr. Edwards's collection 

 dated September 2, 1888, and October 13, 

 1894. 



