1 86 



THE MUSEUM. 



soil, topped by a thick layer of clear 

 loam upon which the coarse grass and 

 weeds of the sea shore grow abund- 

 antly. The southern or larger of the 

 three islands presents some slight dif- 

 ference in structure; being surrounded 

 at its foot, above the rocky base, by a 

 wide belt of fine gravel mixed with 

 numerous shells and here and there a 

 stray arrow head or spear point may 

 be found buried beneath the layer of 

 gravel. The top of the island is 

 abundantly covered by thick grass and 

 a few weeds. However, it is not the 

 geographical peculiarities which are of 

 particular interest, but from the fact 

 that these islands serve as the breed- 

 ing locality for countless numbers of 

 the Common, Arctic and Roseate 

 Terns. When approaching the islands 

 upon a clear sunny day in June; they 

 standout in bold relief against the sky; 

 hardly a "breath of air" is stirring. The 

 lazy "flap" of an occasional Jaeger or 

 the delicate movements of a dainty 

 Petrel, are all that can be noticed. 

 As you approach the islands a few 

 Terns may be seen hovering above the 

 summits. Your boat keel grates upon 

 the shore, you step upon the rocks 

 and — Presto! What a change. 

 Suddenly above your head, it seems as 

 if a perfect pandemonium had sudden- 

 ly been set in motion. Circling above 

 your head are countless numbers of 

 the beautiful Terns with their snapping 

 bills and angry cries making a din all 

 but indescribable. You raise your gun 

 and pull the triger and a beautiful 

 ■"Roseate" falls into the water. Now 

 an interesting thing happens. The 

 whole vast number of birds which only 

 a short time before showed such pug- 

 nacious manifestations suddenly be- 

 come transformed into sympathizing. 



affectionate brothers, sweeping low 

 over their wounded brother with 

 sharp, passionate cries which together 

 with the inefectual attempts of the 

 wounded bird to join them makes a 

 touching picture. But the nests. 

 That of each species does not differ in 

 any essential particular from the 

 other. They are all simply hollowed 

 out for the depth of about an inch, and 

 perhaps lined with a slight amount of 

 sea weed, but more frequently possess- 

 ing no lining whatever. Some little 

 attempt at colonization is made, al- 

 though no hard and fast line can be 

 drawn. The Roseates [Sterna doiig- 

 alli) chiefly nest upon the top of the 

 two outer islands and may make some 

 slight attempt at concealment, under 

 some friendly bush. The Common 

 variety [Sterna hirnnda) and the Arc- 

 tic {Sterna par^^disea) may be found 

 nesting together at the base of both 

 islands and to a small extent upon the 

 northern end of the southern island, 

 A remarkable fact, is that upon this, 

 the southern, only a few nests can be 

 found each year. This however has 

 not always been the case. At one 

 time the three varieties reared their 

 young in great profusion upon this is- 

 land, but for several consecutive years 

 the grass and bushes upon it were en- 

 tirely destroyed by fire, thus breaking 

 up the breeding. 



The eggs vary greatly in size, shape, 

 color and markings and are too well 

 known to need descrijUion. Hut one 

 word must be said upon the production 

 of this great difference. For instance 

 in one nest we find three eggs (the 

 usual number) which presents entirely 

 different markings. Why is this.'' Of 

 course the theory has been advanced 

 that each bird may la\' a differently 



