BLACK TERN 
77. Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis. 10 in. 
Adults in summer with the head, neck and underparts, 
black; back, wings and tail, dark gray; eyes brown. 
In winter, the forehead, neck and underparts are white; 
nape and patch back of eye blackish. 
In summer these little terns are found only in the 
interior, where they nest about marshy ponds. They 
are very pugnacious and will sometimes touch an in- 
truder with their wings as they dart past. As usual 
with the family, they nest in colonies. 
Notes.—A sharp “ peek.” (Chapman). 
Nest.—A pile of weeds and trash in sloughs on the 
prairies, or about the edges of marshy lakes, the nests 
often being surrounded by, and partly floating in the 
water. The three eggs are very dark colored, having 
an olive-brown or greenish background, blotched with 
black. (1.85 x .95). 
Range.—Breeds in the interior from middle U. 8. 
north to Alaska and Hudson Bay; winters south of the 
U. S., migrating along the Atlantic coast as well as in 
the interior. 
