The Sea-birds’ Nursery 
sometimes there is no nest at all, and at 
the most there is nothing more than a 
few stalks scraped together in a little 
hollow among the stones. Here their 
young are born and fed with small fish 
until they are able to join their parents 
on the wing. ‘The fish are caught from 
the surface of the sea, as they swim 
about in shoals, by the birds darting 
down on them from above and catching 
them in their beaks. 
It is a lovely sight to see a flock of 
terns fishing in a narrow arm of the 
sea. The birds are beating slowly all 
head to wind, with their heads and 
pointed beaks bent downwards, and they 
scan with quick, bright eyes the rippled 
surface of the water beneath. The 
moment a bird perceives a small fish it 
plunges headlong into the water and 
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