38 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 55. 



three, but there were many nests with two eggs or young, and 

 a somiewhat smaller number with four eggs or young. 



Contrary to manv statements, I have never met with a case 

 of no nest material in the case of this tern. A freshly made 

 nest is usually a well constructed cup of dry grass, or dry drift 

 seaweed, or other dry trash, arranged loosely in a depression 

 in the sand, on drift seaweed, or among the beach pebbles or 

 stones. The material is definitely arranged and pressed down 

 to smoothness by treading and by pressing the breast against 

 the nest material. Exposed nests are pretty certain to have 

 most or all of the nest material blown away before the chicks 

 leave the nest. 



Nests are placed practically anywhere on the ground. The 

 sandy beaches as well as the gravelly and stony exposed 

 beaches are occupied, but there seems to be a marked tendency 

 for the birds to prefer the upper reaches of the islands, placing 

 the nests among the grasses and bushes and vines, but with- 

 out attempts at concealment. On the Woepecket islands, how- 

 ever, where great boulders of several tons w^eight are scat- 

 tered along certain parts of the beach, several nests were found 

 beneath these boulders, or even placed well back in crevices 

 or littles caves. The birds seem to demand a fairly broad out- 

 look from the nest. The upland parts of Penikese island are 

 covered with a strong turf which supports a luxuriant growth 

 of grass. Among this grass the terns' nests are often raised 

 from the ground by the thick matting of last year's growth. 



Air. Mackay states that wherever the nest may be placed the 

 tern selects material which harmonizes with the surroundings. 

 I have not found that to be true in enough cases to indicate 

 any suggestion of intelligence on the part of the bird. Nests 

 placed among the rubble of the beach are hard to see l>ecause 

 the eggs resemble the pebbles, making the nest appear to be a 

 wisp of drift. Nests placed on the light gray sand or grass 

 are conspicuous objects, since both nest material and eggs form 

 a strong contrast with the surroundings. It would seem, there- 

 fore, that the upland and sandy reaches nesting habit was a 

 late acquisition, and that the birds have not yet fully adapted 



