BIRD GENEALOGY 



Now terns rarely rest on the water or swim, 

 and gulls do not often swim rapidly, in fact, 

 they rarely swim at all, but drift about, while, 

 if either bird descends below the surface, it 

 is as a result of the velocity of their plunge 

 from the air, and their feet are probably not 

 used. In truth, the web, although useful, is 

 largely wasted on these birds, and it is evident 

 that it is ancient and points to a swimming 

 ancestry. That this ancestry is less remote 

 than in the shore-birds is perhaps shown by 

 the fact that a wing-tipped gull, falling on the 

 beach will take to the water and swim vigor- 

 ously out to sea, while a similarly crippled 

 shore-bird, falling into the water, will swim 

 to the beach and endeavor to run inland to 

 hide. 



Before they are able to fly, young skimmers 

 —of the gull tribe— are said to seek safety 

 by running into the water, another evidence 

 of their water ancestry. Chapman in his 

 *' Camps and Cruises of an Ornithologist,'' 

 speaking of young common terns a few days 

 old, says: '* Several were seen to enter an 

 inflowing creek, drink repeatedly of the salt 

 water and swim actively, in evident enjoy- 

 ment of their natatorial powers, while the 



287 



