AG WATER BIRDS 
is used of all terns. The Least Tern is said to feed 
upon insects, and has the peculiar darting, skimming 
“sea swallow ” 
flight of swallows ; hence the appellation 
is particularly appropriate to it. Its call note is a high- 
keyed squeal or squeak, and it utters this note almost 
continuously while on the wing. 
Throughout the coast of Southern California these 
Terns are found nesting on the narrow strip of beach 
between the tide marsh and the sea. Along the old sea 
drive, a few miles southward from Coronado Beach, it is 
not uncommon to find their eggs laid on the bare sand, 
at the edge of the salt marsh, well out of reach of the 
tide; but so perfectly do they harmonize with their 
environment that the searcher may, and usually does, 
pass them by, unless the distress of the parent bird or 
the flushing of the mother from the nest betrays its 
location. Even more difficult to find are the newly 
hatched young, which are little balls of down scarcely 
larger than a walnut, and seem to melt into the color 
of the sand even after you have discovered them. 
Crouched motionless among the pebbles, they do not 
even wink until your hand almost closes over them, 
when, presto / they scud off with most surprising speed. 
77. AMERICAN BLACK TERN. — Hydrochelidon nigra 
surinamensis. 
Famity: The Gulls and Terns. 
Length : 9.00-10.00. 
Adults in Summer: Head, neck, and under parts black; upper parts 
uniform slate-gray ; bill and feet black. 
