GULLS AND TERNS. SI 
birds may be watched with ease. In a serried 
throng they flutter to and fro; ever and anon a 
bird falls down like a fragrant of white glittering 
marble into the sea with a loud splash, and in a 
moment rises again with its finny prey. Bird after 
bird keeps dropping so; now and then a bird 
remains swimming on the water; now and then 
two birds chase each other in rapid flight. And 
so for miles the Terns will continue to follow the 
shoal until hunger is satisfied, or the fish retire to 
greater depths. The food of this species is chiefly 
composed of small fish, but insects and crustaceans 
are also devoured. The note of the Common Tern 
is a shrill £r2ck or Aree-zck, most frequently uttered 
when the bird is flying alarmed over its invaded 
nesting place. 
The Common Tern is rather a late breeder, its 
eggs not being laid until the end of May or early 
in June. It breeds in companies of varying size, 
the suitability of the site being in some measure a 
determining cause. This Tern is equally capricious 
in the site selected for the nests; sometimes one 
spot is chosen, sometimes another; but there can 
be little doubt that the bird pairs for life, and 
evinces considerable attachment for its accustomed 
haunts. I have found almost invariably that the 
Common Tern habitually lays its eggs farther from 
the water than the Arctic Tern, and always prefers 
to conceal them amongst vegetation of some kind. 
Islands are always preferred to the mainland, 
