Vol. XXII 

 1905 



Stockard, A T esting Habits of Mississippi Birds. 147 



cies may have been noted, and it is useless to string out a list of 

 the dates on which all these nests were observed. 



1. Podilymbus podiceps. Pied-billed Grebe. — These birds are seen 

 in Mississippi every month of the year, and often in considerable num- 

 bers. Many careful searches were made for their nests but all proved 

 unsuccessful, though I am confident that they nest in the State. 



2. Sterna maxima. Royal Tern. — This beautiful large tern is to be 

 found nesting abundantly on the small islands to the south of Mississippi 

 Sound. No nest is constructed, the eggs being placed on the bare sand. 

 Sets were found consisting of two and four eggs each; those of four were 

 very rare, only two such being observed. The earliest date on which they 

 were taken was May 28, and the latest was June 21, 1903. There is no 

 doubt that fresh eggs may be found during a much longer period than 

 these dates indicate, as few trips were made to the islands. Mr. C. Del- 

 mas of Scranton has collected on the islands near that place many eggs 

 of these birds as well as those of the Cabot's Tern. 



3. Sterna sandvicensis acuflavida. Cabot's Tern. — This tern is found 

 breeding on the islands in company with the Royal Tern. In Mississippi 

 Sound one finds many eggs of this species in the latter part of May and 

 June. All the sets observed contained one or two eggs ; never as many 

 as three were found in a set. No nest is built, the eggs lying on the 

 sandy ground of the island. The earliest sets were taken on May 28, 

 1901, almost all consisting of fresh eggs, and the latest were found June 

 21, 1903, most of which contained well formed embryos, and many nest- 

 lings were seen on the islands at this time. 



4. Anhinga anhinga. Anhinga. — This bird is commonly known in 

 Mississippi as the Water Turkey. They are often noticed in autumn and 

 winter flying in large flocks. During the breeding season they are rarely 

 observed unless one visits some swampy wood, or better some lake that is 

 situated in a dense timber-land. There the Anhinga will be found nest- 

 ing in small colonies. Nine occupied nests was the largest group found, 

 but usually only from three to five pairs nest about a small lake. The 

 nest was rather loosely constructed of sticks and was very shallow, being 

 little more than a platform, suggesting at once the architectural style so 

 commonly employed by the herons. The Little Blue Heron was found 

 nesting about the same lakes with the Anhingas. The earliest eggs were 

 taken on April 21, 1901, and the latest on May 14, 1902. As the nesting 

 localities have not been at all constantly observed, the laying season may 

 well have wider limits. Four eggs constituted the full set in all cases 

 noted. 



5. Ardetta exilis. Least Bittern. — The nest of the Least Bittern 

 was not found, although the birds were present during the nesting 

 season. They were always very rare, however, in the marshes in which I 

 collected. ' 



