104 



MEMOIRS OF THE NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 



Terns very rarely visit Ipswich Beach before the first of August, and they are 

 rare in the spring. The first autumn arrivals in 1903 appeared on August 4th, 

 and in 1904 on August 6th. On August lOth, immature birds were also found. 

 These are all probably migrants from the north. By the middle of the month 

 they are common and flocks of young and old to the number of two or three 

 hundred disport themselves about the beach, or fly screaming over the marshes. 

 Their rattling scream is loud and insistent, and once heard is not easily forgot- 

 ten, especially by one who has visited their breeding places. On the beach 

 itself, their white breasts suggest at a distance a flock of shore birds, but their 

 short legs and long wings make them awkward walkers. Unlike Sandpipers, 

 therefore, they generally stand still or walk but a few inches. They often bathe 

 in the shallow water, or, standing still, snatch a few moments of sleep, with their 

 heads sunk down between the shoulders, or the bill buried in the feathers of the 

 back. As they rise, their rattling tc-arr and loud ki' ki' ki' ring out, and they 

 scatter to hover and plunge into the water, often immersing themselves entirely 

 in their pursuit of small fish. Not infrequently they may be seen flying with a 

 fish hanging from the bill. 



They often dart down screaming at gunners' decoys, and when one of their 

 number is shot they circle about and dart down screaming at the hapless one, 

 whether to help or destroy, I know not. 



They suffer greatly from the annoyance of the Jaegers, who pursue them 

 unmercifully and force them to drop their prey. But they frequently chase the 

 Jaegers in return, screaming continuously. Once in mid-August on the Maine 

 coast I found a Common Tern chasing a male Sharp-shinned Hawk. The latter 

 twisted and turned but was unable to escape his adversary until he took refuge 

 in an alder thicket, around which the Tern flew screaming in anger. The cause 

 of this anger I could not discover, because the Hawk's stomach contained only a 

 Sparrow and a Warbler, birds in which the Tern presumably took no interest. 



It is certainly a great satisfaction to bird-lovers to note a decided increase 

 in the number of Terns of late years, owing to the splendid efforts for their 

 protection. 



The Common Tern is easily identified by his swallow-like flight, his bill 

 pointing downwards as he flies, by his hovering and plunging after fish and his 

 loud te-arrs. The points of difference between the Common and the Arctic 

 Tern are given under the latter bird. 



