GULLS AXD TERNS OF NEW ENGLAND. 15 



gives a charming touch of life to many a scene, that is lack- 

 ing in most parts of our coast. For even the common tern 

 no longer deser\"es his name. One might travel overman}^ 

 miles of New England coast, in summer, and never see a 

 white wing, when formerly they existed in numbers. 



As song birds gulls and terns are total failures. Hardy 

 mariners are not usually noted for soft voices. These birds 

 live the strenuous life, fighting for existence with gale and 

 breaker. Their home is often placed just above the surf 

 thundering against the rocks. So in order to communicate 

 with each other they have developed voices that are shrill 

 and piercing, loud and strong, useful but not sweet. 



For particulars a^ to their individual languages, let me re- 

 fer you to the text books. The terns are the only sociable 

 ones I have met, the others of mj- acquaintance have usu- 

 ally maintained a discreet silence, as if recognizing that 

 their language did not correspond with their swell clothes. 



The moult of gulls and terns presents nothing unusual. 

 Adults have two moults a year, a complete one in the aut- 

 umn, the postnuptial, and an incomplete pre-nuptial in the 

 spring. The chicks come into the world clad in brownish 

 down, which soon gives place, by a post-natal moult, to the 

 Juvenal plumage, gray and brown with a great deal of mot- 

 tling. 



After several months occurs the post-juvenal moult, 

 and in the case of the terns, the young then assume a dress 

 that can be distinguished only by experts, from the winter 

 garb of adults. After this the plumage of 3-0 ung and old 

 is identical. Occasionally a bird skips its nuptial dress, 

 and assumes in the spring the full winter plumage. This 

 has led to the description of several naw species that have 

 only been ruled out in recent years, since the moult of birds 

 has been critically studied. 



In young gulls of the smaller species, such as Bonaparte's 

 or the Laughing gull, a black band crosses the tail near 



