THE BIRDS OF COBB^S ISLAND, VIRGINIA 65 



Sea birds are possessed of great curiosity regarding any 

 strange object they may chance upon in their wanderings. 

 I have seen gulls hover and scream for half an hour over 

 an old basket awash in the surf. Half way along the ocean 

 side of Cobb's Island lay a broken fishing boat where it 

 had been carried and left by some high tide. The long- 

 brown roll of dried sea weed extending along the beach 

 and marking the high water line crossed the spot where 

 the boat lay and partially filled it. 



I climbed into this boat one afternoon and lay down on 

 my back to see what the birds would have to say when they 

 saw me. Within five minutes I heard a dry high-pitched 

 squeak and, moving my hat slightly, saw a tern thirty or 

 forty feet above looking down at me. How his little yellow 

 eyes did glisten with curiosity! In another moment he 

 fell off before the wind, but soon came back, slowly balanc- 

 ing along against the breeze. Again and again his squeaky 

 cry was uttered. Then another tern appeared, and soon a 

 gull joined them. "Within fifteen minutes a dozen gulls 

 and more than one hundred terns were flying about, all 

 making a great outcry at the strange figure in the boat. 

 Any movement on my part was a signal for a louder out- 

 burst of sounds as the birds rose higher or hurried away 

 only to return a minute later to hover and stare and scream 

 as before. Not until I arose and walked away were they 



