Wayne: Birds of South Carolina. 5 



be found in the latter part of May or the first week in June, but 

 the birds are so harassed by people who systematically gath- 

 er the eggs, that, in order to raise a brood, they continue to lay 

 until late in July. 



This tern and the Royal Tern {S. maxima) do not breed 

 on the coast islands, although the conditions are favorable, but 

 prefer a "key" or bank which is generally inaccessible in rough 

 weather. The notes of this tern are very guttural and, when the 

 weather is calm, can be heard at a great distance. Of all the 

 terns and gulls which frequent our coast, this species is the shy- 

 est and most difficult to secure. 



13. Sterna maxima Bodd. Royal Tern. 



Inferior in size to the Caspian Tern alone, this beautiful species 

 is still abundant on our coast. It is only a question of time, how- 

 ever, when it will no longer be plentiful, since it rarely raises a 

 brood, being mercilessly persecuted by fishermen and by people 

 who gather eggs in mere wantonness. How these birds continue 

 to hold their own under such conditions is a mystery, for as soon as 

 they are laid the eggs are taken. The height of the breeding season 

 is the first week in June, but on account of being robbed, the 

 birds continue to lay until late in July. Two or three eggs 

 are laid in a hole scooped out in the sand. The eggs are white 

 or grayish white, spotted and blotched with chocolate, and meas- 

 ure 2.60X1.70. 



Mr. Ellison A. Smyth, Jr., in an article on this species, says: * 



The Royal Tern is one of the commonest in our Harbor, in the sense that, like 

 the poor, it is always with us. But winter, spring and summer alike know the 

 loud, harsh and not altogether unmusical cry of S. maxima. 



Mr. Smyth is certainly in error in the statement that this spe- 

 cies winters. He refers to a specimen taken December 26, 1887, 

 but the fact that a specimen was taken in late December does 

 not prove that the species winters. 



14. Sterna sandvicensis acuflavida (Cabot). Cabot's Tern, 

 This species is an extremely rare visitant. I have seen but two 



birds on this coast since 1883, one of which was secured by Mr. 

 William Brewster, in whose company I was, on May 8, 1885, on 

 Sullivan's Island. This specimen was an adult male in full nup- 

 tial plumage. 



^Proc. Ell.Soc, II, Jan., 1888. 



