Long-winged Swimmers. 



fish (the species called silversides being a favorite) of no value to man, 

 which they secure by darting from the air with great speed and direct- 

 ness. When looking for food, Terns usually fly with the bill down- 

 ward, a habit which will aid in distinguishing them them from the 

 Gulls, whose bill is carried in a line with the body. 



Terns usually nest in large colonies on the beach of some isolated 

 islet either on our sea coasts or in the interior. The nest is generally 

 composed of a few wisps of sea-weed or grass, or the two or three eggs 

 are not infrequently laid in a slight hollow in the sand or among the 

 shells and pebbles. 



Like the Gulls, Terns have been slaughtered in enormous numbers 

 for millinery purposes; but in this country, at least, effective efforts are 

 now being made to preserve them. 



Skimmers nest in numbers on our Atlantic Coast from Virginia 

 southward, laying their four eggs in a slight depression in the sand. 

 In feeding, their mouth is held open and the longer, thin, lower mandi- 

 ble is dropped beneath the surface of the water, when, flying rapidly, 

 they readily pick up food. 



In young Skimmers, however, the two mandibles are of equal length 

 and the lower mandible does not become appreciably longer than the 

 upper one until the birds begin to fly. During the flightless period of 

 the bird's life, the bill may be used to pick up food along the shore, 

 but when the power of flight is acquired and with it ability to feed in 

 the characteristic Skimmer manner, then the peculiar bill of these birds 

 becomes fully developed. 



The young of all the Gulls and Terns are born covered with down 

 and can leave the nest a few hours after birth. The Noddy, however, 

 is said to be several weeks in its stick nest, which, unlike other mem- 

 bers of its group, it often builds in bushes. 



The young are colored to harmonize with their usual surroundings. 

 Young Skimmers are pale, sandy brown, of the same color as the sand 

 in which they are hatched. Young Terns are darker, and young Laugh- 

 ing Gulls born in nests of reeds or meadow grasses, are the darkest of 

 the three. 



All young Gulls and Terns have the habit of squatting low near the 

 ground in the presence of danger and remaining motionless until act- 

 ually touched when they seem to realize that they have been seen and 



trust to their legs for safety. 



50 



