LIEE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULi,S AND TERNS. 237 



elegant and dainty creature, its spotless and delicate plumage and its 

 buoyant, graceful flight, as it flies listlessly up the beach until the 

 discovery of some school of small fry, on which it feeds, causes it to 

 pause, hover for an instant, and plunge headlong into the water for 

 some tiny minnow. 



We came near losing this beautiful bird a few years ago, because 

 its exquisite plumage was so much in demand for feminine decora- 

 tion that, before we realized it, collectors for the millinery trade had 

 alarmingly reduced its numbers. Stringent laws, however, were 

 passed for its protection and it has now practically regained its 

 former abundance. The most important breeding colony in Massa- 

 chusetts is on Muskeget Island, between Nantucket and Marthas 

 Vineyard, which has been rigidly protected for a number of years 

 and contains the largest sea-bird colonies on the New England coast 

 south of Maine. Mr. George H. Mackay kept very close watch over 

 it during its most critical period, and the keeper of the life-saving 

 station has guarded it ever since. That the terns prospered under 

 protection is clearly shown by Mr. Mackay's records, covering a 

 period of five years from 1894 to 1898, inclusive, during which time 

 they nearly doubled in number. 



When Mr. William Brewster first visited Muskeget in 1870 the 

 terns were astonishingly abundant though he was told by the 

 fishermen that they had been diminishing for years. Four years 

 later he found their numbers sadly depleted by th'e depredations of 

 fishermen who landed there regularly to collect their eggs, through 

 June, July, and August, keeping the poor terns laying like hens, 

 so that very few of them succeeded in raising broods. I made five 

 visits to Muskeget in 1885, 1889, 1890, 1892, and 1903. Between my 

 first two visits they continued to decrease in spite of the new laws 

 enacted for their protection, but between 1890 and 1902 they in- 

 creased again and are now probably as abundant as they ever were 

 within my memory. Mr. Mackay's record show a very satisfactory 

 increase between 1894 and 1898. Egging operations and shooting 

 for millinery purposes have been effectively stopped. 



Muskeget Island is the largest of a group of small, low sandy 

 islands forming a part of the southern boundary of Nantucket 

 Sound. It is a little more than an elevated sand bar raised above 

 the level of the numerous sand shoals so dreaded by sailors in that 

 region, which are usually invisible at high tide, but in rough weather 

 are white with combing breakers. A life-saving station has been 

 established there for the rescue of unfortunate mariners. A few 

 fishermen's and gunners' shanties are the only other buildings on the 

 island. It is approximately crescent shaped, though its outline 

 changes frequently, and is about 3 miles long and a mile wide. 

 Several small islands near it are practically a part of it. In the 



