92 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



COLONEL RUOSEVELT, PRESIDENT M. L. 

 ALEXANDER CIN THE CENTER) AND AU- 

 DUBON WARDEN EXAMINING 

 A ROYAL TERN EGG. 



dent of the Conservation Commission of 

 Louisiana, and Stanley Clisby Arthur, 

 the commission's ornithologist. The 

 head of the commission found a ready 

 listener in the former president when he 

 went into the details of conservation 

 work now practiced in Louisiana. 



Breton Island proved a revelation to 

 Col. Roosevelt. A two-mile stretch of 

 sandy beach was covered with the eggs 

 of the Royal, Caspian and Cabot terns 

 and black skimmers. Back from the 

 beach the mangroves and salt grass were 

 filled with the nests of about fifteen 

 thousand laughing gulls. At the ap- 

 proach of the party, sections of the vast 

 colony, estimated to be over a hundred 

 thousand, took the air in a beautiful 

 fluttering flight of snowy wings, settling 

 back on their eggs, however, as the par- 

 tv moved forward. 



For an hour the former president sat 

 on the beach and with his binoculars 

 studied the nesting habits of the various 

 species, the peculiarities of flight, and 

 saw for the first time the reprehensible 

 habit of the laughing gull in pouncing 

 on the unguarded egg of the terns, 

 breaking it open with its stout bill and 

 feasting on the contents. Many other 

 habits were noted and discussed with 

 Herbert K. Job, head of the Department 

 of Applied Ornithology of the National 

 Association of Audubon Societies, 

 who accompanied the former president 

 to make the pictures for his magazine 

 articles, and Air. Arthur, who in his 

 work for the Louisiana commission, has 

 made a special study of breeding cus- 

 toms practiced by the southern breeding 

 birds. 



A R0\AL TERN COLONY ON BRETON ISLAND 



A VIEW SHOWING HOW TERN EGGS ARE DE- 

 POSITED ON TWO MILE STRETCH OF 

 SAND ON BRETON ISLAND. 



The patrolling system of protecting 

 these breeding islands from human mo- 

 lestation during the summer months was 

 explained to the distinguished natural- 

 ist by President Alexander and the com- 

 mission's work in this regard was high- 

 ly commended by Col. Roosevelt, who 

 also showed lively interest in the other 

 natural resources of the state under the 

 jurisdiction of the commission. 



It is expected that Col. Roosevelt will 

 make a second visit to Louisiana during 

 the coming winter to investigate the 

 great game and water-fowl refuges. 

 Marsh Island, The State Game Pre- 

 serve, the Ward-Mcllhenny and Rocke- 

 feller Foundation, when the ducks and 

 2'eese are there. 



