TERNS 



69 



smoky-brown, grayish on abdomen ; upper wing-coverts 

 and shoulders, tipped with white giving a spotty 

 appearance; feathers of back, rump, and upper tail- 

 coverts, margined with dull rufous; primaries and tail, 

 black, the latter but little forked; bill, black above, dull 

 reddish below; eyes and feet, dusky-red. 



Nest and Eggs. — On sandy beaches i to 3 esjss are 

 dropped with slight attempt at a nest; the eggs are 



creani\ or buff, sparsely spotted and splashed with 

 light lirown, X'andyke brown, and lavender. 



Distribution. — Tropical and subtropical coasts, e.x- 

 cept Pacific coast of South America; breeds from 

 Florida, Louisiana, and Texas throughout the Bahamas, 

 West Indies, and tropical islands of the Atlantic ; rarely 

 north til Maine; winters from the Gulf coast to Brazil 

 and the Falkland Islands. 



.■\s there is more or less similarity in the a])- 

 pearance, habits, and habitat of the Noddv and 

 .Sooty Terns it becomes projier as well as con- 

 venient to treat the two species together. For 

 most of the following facts, we are indebted to 

 John P). ^^'atson's carefully prc|)ared monogra])h, 

 " The Behavior of Noddy ;ui(l .Sooty Terns," 

 this being one of the Papers fnnii the TortiKjas 

 Laboratorv of the CaniCi/ic 1 n.<t'itutiou of Jl'ash- 



fool, and that it is applied to the Tern in question 

 because of the liird's tamencss or stupidity, es- 

 pecially when on the nest. How much justifica- 

 tion there is for this explanation will appear from 

 Mr. ^^'atson's description of the Noddy's conduct 

 during the nidification jieriod. As he shows, the 

 name undoubtedly has reference to the bird's 

 curious nodding habit, of which he gives the 

 following description : 



^^.iM.4 



s^ 



Drawing by 1\. 1 Li;.,^.,,L 



NODDY (i nat. size) 

 It greets a stranger bird with a nod of the head 



hujton. Mr. Watson remarks th:it " extended 

 statements of the instincts and habits of these 

 birds are not extant." The habit of the birds of 

 assembling on islands has been noted bv various 

 naturalists and travelers, but nearly all informa- 

 tion concerning them has to do with their traits 

 during the nesting season, and little is known 

 of the remainder of their lives. What Air. AX'at- 

 son records concerning their domestic condtict 

 should, however, receive the careful attention of 

 all who are interested in these comparatively little 

 known birds. 



Certain of the dictionaries inform the readers 

 that the word " Noddy " means simpleton or 



" This nodding reaction is one of the most 

 interesting and ludicrous acts of the Noddy Tern. 

 It is cjuite elabor;ite. Two birds will face each 

 other, one will then bow the head almost to the 

 ground, raise it quickly almost to a vertical 

 position, and then quickly lower it. He will re- 

 ])eat this over and over again with great rapidity. 

 The other bird .goes through ;i similar panto- 

 mime. Tf a stranger bird alights near a group, 

 he s.iliites those nearest, and is in turn s;iluted 

 by them. During the pantomime a sound is 

 rarely he;ird." 



■\Tr. Watson observed these singular birds on 

 Bird Kev, a verv small coral island aboiu sixty- 



