GULLS AND TERNS. 57 
as extensive as in the other common British species, 
Like its congeners it is eminently a bird of the air, 
flying up and down in restless uncertain flight, 
living almost entirely on the wing during the 
daytime, only seeking the sands or the sea to sleep 
or to rest. It may be watched flying along the 
coast, a short distance from land, in a slow irregular 
way, every now and then poising for a second, and 
then dropping into the water with a tiny splash to 
seize a fish or a crustacean. Its note is not quite 
so harsh as that of the larger species, and may be 
described as a shrill pzv7, most frequently uttered 
when its breeding places are invaded. Its food is 
composed of small fish, insects, sand-lice, and 
crustaceans, most of which is secured whilst the 
bird is on the wing. 
The Lesser Tern begins breeding in June. Like 
all the other species it returns unfailingly to certain 
spots along the coast each summer, and may, there- 
fore, be presumed to pair for life. Its favourite 
breeding-grounds are extensive stretches of sand, 
varied with slips and banks of coarser shingle. 
It makes no nest, not even so much as scratching 
a hollow for its eggs, but lays them on the bare 
ground. It is most interesting to remark that 
this Tern never lays its eggs on the fine sand, 
but always on the bits of rough beach—where the 
ground is strewn with little stones, broken shells, 
and other débris of the shore—where their colour 
harmonises so closely with surrounding objects 
