JOURNAL OF THE WILD BIRD INVESTIGATIOX SOCIETY. 



'•i^'.ys weiv seen, aiitl nunicrdus nouiil;" I criis, 

 the majiirilN' of wllicli were aliiKisl reatly Ici 

 ll\-, wen- Ncaltered here and ihere aincnii^- ihe 

 lieni. Ai tliis staye the l)ircl is of a slali.sh 

 t'olouration, with a bla('l< ra[), wilh ret! healv 

 and lej^'s : die beai< has a black lip. Ihe 

 i)i(i\\ iiish tips of tlie feadiers still |)ersisi and 

 yi\e a tiarker tinge to i)arts. Ihe general 

 colouring" is now ap|iroaching that of the 

 adult. \'er\' few dead birtls were obserxed. 

 One little Tern whirl) lay gasping died when 

 it was lifietl. There was no external sign ol 

 injtirx'; the shock of capinre had e\identl\' 

 preci|-)iiated death. .\ like tragic result has 

 been observed in the case of a v'oung bird of 

 another species al.so. 



It .seems probable that the voting Tern had 

 been exhausted by slar\-alion, for when it was 

 prepared for stuffing it was toiiiul to be thin. 

 If, liowrver, it was suffering from want ol 

 footl, it wa^ not due to a dearlli ot hslies, tor 

 a number of small herrings anil sandeels, 

 about three inches long, were found h'ing on 

 the dunes, and a fortnight later great C|iianti- 

 lies of \dung herrings were present in the sea 

 about twelve miles distant from the sjiot ; 

 there was no reason to suppose they were n<it 

 to be found nearer there. It seems to follow 

 then that the x-oung" Tern had been neglected 

 b\- its parents. May the old birds sometimes 

 lose touch with the chicks? 



.Some of the little Terns were esconced each 

 in a nest-like hollow which it hatl |:)n\ssed out 

 in the bent. It looked as if tlie\- had occtipied 

 these posts for some time. One chick was 

 obser\-e(l in wait palienlh' on llii- sanil for 

 half-an-hoiir without stirring. These facts 

 seem to point to an instinct in the xiitnig 'Tern 

 not to waiuler awav from the place in which 

 its iKirent had left it. \i one place the xoung 

 were in a little flock. I am not aware whether 

 it is known it the parent can recognise its <iwn 

 chick or not, but if the old bird loses touch 

 wilh the young, it seems likelv that the latter 

 must starve. Stu'li an eventualitv miijht 



result from the chicks being disturbed bv indi- 

 \ithials or by dogs. 



Siiddenb' three Stoats apix-ared on a small 

 ttifted area, a little distance away. One was 

 hunting about as if on a scent, the two others 

 gambolled on the sward. .\ll three su(jn dis- 

 appeared in the bent. 



As we a|iiiroached the s|5ol which the Stoats 

 had just \acated we found a young Tern 

 King on its back twisting abf)ut. It could 

 not stand, but it endeavoured to bite when it 

 was lifted. A liny wound was seen on the 

 back" of its head. T'urther on a Tern was 

 crouching; it seemed C|uite healthy but was 

 not very active. The back of the head showed 

 a cicatrized wouiid. This bird had probabh" 

 been attacked some time previoush", and had 

 reco\'ered. .Soon we came upon another Tern 

 lying on its side, ami making onlv a ver\' 

 feeble moxenient : it also had the wound on 

 the back of the head. This chick had been 

 seized close to the spot where it la\". A drop 

 of blood was sticking to the grass, and the 

 footmarks of the .Stoat were seen on the sand 

 a few inches away. Earlier in the da\' a 

 dead bird was found to have a bloody mark 

 <in the head. The wiiuncl seemed to be too 

 small to account for death, but now a sufficient 

 reason was afforded. 



'The first rnentioned injured Tern lived for 

 two days, in a sort of comatose condition. It 

 sometimes tried to stand or lift its head, but 

 its neck appeared to be ixiralxsed. It was 

 restless as long as its head was uni-overed : it 

 struggled about till it managed to hide its 

 head in something. When it was lifted one 

 of the feet \ibraled ra]iicll\ . Allhough the 

 brain was injured other |)aris of its organisa- 

 tion were evidentlv sound. It breathed stead- 

 ily, digestion went on seeniingl\" normallv, 

 and faeces were ejected several times during 

 the |)eriod. Once ni" twice it uttered a feeble 

 cry. .\ttempts were niatle to feed it with 

 bread soakeil in milk. It allowetl the food to 

 lie pushed into its mniiih iiniil iis breathing" 



