236 OUR RARER BIRDS 



note is very similar to that of the other Terns, but not quite 

 so loud, and is uttered most vociferously when its breeding 

 grounds are invaded. The Lesser Tern feeds on small fish 

 and crustaceans, sand lice, and not a few insects. 



In the month of June, when the sun beats fiercely down 

 on the sandy shores, the Lesser Tern begins domestic duties. 

 Eegularly every year it appears on the same favourite bit of 

 coast. It breeds in small colonies, and on the broad expanse 

 of beach its eggs are extremely difficult to find. By the 

 actions of the birds, fluttering high in air above, you may 

 know their eggs are on the shore around you, but the only 

 way to obtain them is by a close and systematic search. I 

 have observed that the Lesser Tern prefers those portions of 

 the low beach where the smooth fine sand is varied here and 

 there with bits of rougher ground strewn with pebbles, broken 

 shells, and the various rubbish that accumulates on the shore. 

 It is no use searching the fine sand where the Einged Plovers 

 nest for the eggs of the Lesser Tern ; but if you confine your 

 attention to those bits of rougher beach your perseverance 

 will soon be rewarded. The Lesser Tern has an object in 

 laying its eggs on the rough broken ground, for it is there 

 they harmonise most closely with surrounding objects. If 

 laid on the smooth sand, their big blotches of colour would 

 make them most conspicuous, and they would be seen 

 at once. The Lesser Tern makes no nest — in many cases 

 not so much as scraping a hollow in the beach. She lays 

 her eggs on the bare ground, and during the hot hours of 

 day rarely sits upon them — the sun furnishing sufficient heat 

 for the purpose. It has been said that this bird never lays 

 more than three eggs in a clutch, but I have taken four on 

 two separate occasions in a small colony of these birds on 

 the Lincolnshire coast. The eggs are precisely the same in 

 colour as those of the Common Tern, but are as a rule more 

 boldly blotched and spotted. They are of course only about 



