Birds in Relation to Agriculture in New York State 1791 



cial minnows and suckers. At any rate, as long as there is no good evidence 

 against it, the kingfisher's striking appearance and interesting habits 

 make it deserving of protection. In catching fish the kingfisher either 

 waits on a dead branch overhanging the water until a fish passes beneath, 

 or hovers over the spot where a fish is seen, and at the proper instant 

 plunges abruptly downward, spearing the fish with its strong, pointed 

 bill, the force of its impact sometimes carrying it entirely beneath the 

 surface. 



The terns are largely maritime in their habits, although a few species 

 are occasionally seen about 

 the larger bodies of water 

 throughout the State. They 

 have been called sea 

 swallows because of their 

 long, pointed wings, their 

 usually forked tails, and 

 their gracefiil flight. Their 

 bills are strong and pointed, 

 however, and most species 

 feed entirely on fish, which 

 they catch by plunging like 

 the kingfisher. The black 

 tern is less maritime than 

 the other species, sometimes 

 nesting about some of the 

 more extensive marshes in 

 the State, and being not 

 uncommon along lake 

 shores in the fall. In 

 summer the head and the underparts are black, and the back and 

 the wings are slaty gray; but during the fall the black is replaced by 

 white. During the siunmer the bird feeds on insects as well as fish, but 

 during the remainder of the year it restricts itself largely to the smaller 

 fishes, such as minnows and killifish, which travel in schools. The common 

 tern and the least tern also are occasionally common about the larger 

 bodies of water during spring and fall, and nest on some of the islands in 

 Lake Erie. It is very doubtful that they do any appreciable harm, as 

 they also feed on small fish that are of no commercial value. They are 

 nearly pure white in color, with pearl-gray wings and black caps. 



The divers 



This group includes the grebes, the loons, and the mergansers — duck- 

 like birds which secure their fish by diving and pursuing them beneath 



Fig. 21.- 



Kingfisher with small sucker, a non-com- 

 mercial fish 



