THE BLACK TERN 



{sterna nigra) 



TTTHETHER the extinction of this pretty Tern 

 " ' as a breeding species in England can be 

 solely attributed to the drainage of fens and marsh 

 lands is certainly doubtful, when we bear in mind 

 how so many of our remaining species of Terns 

 have been reduced in numbers by direct persecution 

 and not the destruction of breeding haunts. The 

 Lesser Tern is a sad example of this, and the 

 greatest care will have to be exercised if we do not 

 want to see it overtaken by the same lamentable 

 fate. The Black Tern was formerly an abundant 

 summer visitor to the fens and marshy lands of 

 East Anglia; the drainage of these has curtailed 

 its haunts, and in many places no doubt destroyed 

 them. The last eggs of which any record has 

 been kept appear to have been taken in 1858 in 

 Norfolk. It is interesting to know that a few 

 pairs of Black Terns appear annually in the districts 



