4-L i;i!!i)LKi> tei;m 



single ;ui(l placed benealli ;i rocik, inid Ik'mukI donlil,, 'hisistlic normal iRiinlier and niuial 

 metliiid of nesting. 



Tlie night of the Bridled Tern is niucii more easy than tliat of tlie Soot_\-, whieh has 

 a rather jerky manner of making itsAvav tln-ough the air, the wings of tli.' Bridled Ih-- 

 ing moved in long, gi'aceful sweeps; this is especially' noticeable when thev are chasing 

 each otiier througli the air, as is practiced liy all species of Terns dni'ing the hreeifnig 

 season. The ni;tes of the Bridled Tern a,:'e m(.)re slnill than tiiose of the Sooty, sonnd- 

 iiig liice "Kill-lock, kill-lock." T]ie_\- also ntter a:i occasional (■io;d<ing nolo as Ihcy lly 

 past the intruder, and give a snarling sound, when they all dive as do the booties, ])nt 

 they are never as solicitous for the safety of their eggs, seldom even hovering over the 

 nest when disturbed. 



On all of the keys frequented by the Sooty Terns were large colonies of Noddies. 

 These birds were very peculiar, being utterly dilferent from any other species of Tern 

 that I ever saw, behaving more like doves than like any member of the gull family with 

 which I am acquainted. They sit on the rocks hilling and cooing, and the peculiar man- 

 ner in which the head is held, beak down, heightens the resemblance to doves. The\ 

 seldom tly high, but go swooping over the water with a Jhght wdiich resembles that of a 

 Night Hawk much more than that of a Tern. They also tly in this same manner wdien 

 disturbed while hreeding, sailing, however, as they ap])roach one, uttering a croaking 

 sound which is the only note that I ever heard them give. They often alight on the 

 rocks in large flocks and appear to prefer sitting to Hying; yet they fly well and swiftly 

 hut never to any great height ahove tlie water. 



Tlie Noddy Tern lasually constructs a nest for the single egg but not always, as I 

 have found their eggs on the naked soil l)eneath busla's. or on the tops of isolated I'ocks, 

 and occasionally in ca.vities beneath rocks. Nests -aw also phuu'd in all of these situa,,- 

 tions as well as on the tojis of low Ijushes or on the cacti that so ahou.nds on these deso- 

 late keys. Noddies are the most fearh'ss ol'all the s|)ecii'S of Terns, but 1 saw onl\- one 

 that made any attem])t a,t defending the t'gg, a.nd she siniph i-aised her wings nwv her 

 back a,nd uttered the croaking note, hut did not attempt lo bile, 



Tiiere appears to be considei'able dillerence in the oljservations of authoi'sin reu'ard 

 to the luunber of eggs deposited liy these three specii/s now under consideration, espe- 

 cially the Noddy and Sooty. In the foi'mer edition of this Work, and in tlie foregoing 

 articles on these species, I state that the eggs are tlii'ee. In so doing, I gave tlie number 

 reported to me as found liy my men on the Tortugas, many years ago, and Audulion 

 gives the saiiie. Tvrus liaA'e lieen persistently robbed liy the inhabitants of the Bahamas 

 for many years, a.nd this nuiy account for the diniiiintioii of the number of eggs on these 

 ishuids as well as elsewhere in the West Indies, but however this may be, it is certain 

 that only one egg is now deposited, at least in the section that I visited. 



