476 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1917. 



without striking the branches of the bushes near them, when they flew away. 

 Here and there, in numerous places within twenty yards of me, females, hav- 

 ing their complement of eggs, alighted, and quietly commenced the labour of 

 incubation. Now and then a male bird also settled close by, and immediately 

 disgorged a small fish within the reach of the female. After some curious 

 reciprocal nods of their heads, which were doubtless intended as marks of 

 affection, the caterer would fly off. Several individuals, which had not com- 

 menced laying their eggs, I saw scratch the sand with their feet, in the manner 

 of the common fowl, while searching for food. In the course of this operation, 

 they frequently seated themselves in the shallow basin to try how it fitted 

 their form, or find out what was still wanted to ensure their comfort. Not the 

 least semblance of a quarrel did I observe between any two of these interesting 

 creatures ; indeed, they all appeared as if happy members of a single family ; 

 and as if to gratify my utmost wishes, a few of them went through the process 

 of courtship in my presence. The male birds frequently threw their heads over 

 their back as it were, in the manner of several species of gulls ; they also 

 swelled out their throats, walked round the females, and ended by uttering a 

 soft puffing sound as they caressed them. Then the pair for a moment or two 

 walked round each other, and at length rose on wing and soon disappeared. 

 Such is one of the many sights it has been my good fortune to witness, and by 

 each of them have I been deeply impressed with a sense of the pervading power 

 of the Deity. 



The Sooty Tern always lays three eggs as its full number, and in no instance, 

 among thousands of the nests which were on the Bird Key, did I find one more 

 when the female was sitting close. I was desirous of ascertaining whether the 

 male and the female incubate alternately ; but this I was unable to do, as the 

 birds frequently left their eggs for half an hour or even three-quarters at a 

 time, but rarely longer. This circumstance, together with the very slight 

 difference in size and colour between the sexes, was the cause of my failure. 



It was curious to observe their actions whenever a large party landed on the 

 island. All those not engaged in incubation would immediately rise in the 

 air and scream aloud ; those on the ground would then join them as quickly 

 as they could, and the whole forming a vast mass, with a broad extended front, 

 would as it were charge us, pass over for fifty yards or so, then suddenly wheel 

 round, and again renew their attack. This they would repeat six or eight times 

 in succession. When the sailors, at our desire, all shouted as loud as they 

 could, the phalanx would for an instant become perfectly silent, as if to 

 gather our meaning; but the next moment, like a huge wave breaking on the 

 beach, it would rush forward with deafening noise. 



When wounded and seized by the hand, this bird bites severely, and utters 

 a plaintive cry differing from its usual note, which is loud and shrill, resem- 

 bling the syllables oo-ce, oo-ee. Their nests are all scooped near the roots or 

 stems of the bushes, and under the shade of their boughs, in many places within 

 a few inches of each other. There is less difference between their eggs, than is 

 commonly seen in those of water birds, both with respect to size and colouring. 

 They generally measure two inches and one-eighth, by one and a half, have a 

 smooth shell, with the ground of a pale cream colour, sparingly marked with 

 various tinges of lightish umber, and still lighter marks of purple, which appear 

 as if within the shell. The Lieutenant, N. Lacoste, Esq., informed me that 

 shortly after the young are hatched, they ramble pell-mell over the island, to 

 meet their parents, and be fed by them ; that these birds have been known to 

 collect there for the purpose of breeding, since the oldest wreckers on that coast 

 can recollect; and that they usually arrive in May, and remain until the 

 beginning of August, when they retire southward to spend the winter mouths. 



