^.6 Mackay, Terns of Muskegct Island. \_f^^. 



these chicks were hatched, I am inchned to attribute more or less 

 of this mortality to these ants. My record shows that 307 dead 

 chicks were found on July i and 2, 1894. 



This year the Terns left this vicinity earlier than usual, large 

 numbers having departed by September i. Should one desire 

 to see them in all their glory, it would be well to visit them about 

 the first of July and walk out among them at sunrise or at sunset. 

 The former is the better time, for then they are preparing to 

 depart for the ' rips ' for food, many of them going long distances. 

 While making a passage to Nantucket I have often observed 

 them when it was nearly dark, when flocks of a few to fifty would 

 be flying close to the water, all headed for Muskeget. It is when 

 among them at their breeding grounds that their wonderful aerial 

 movements can be best observed. Some of them are very bold 

 and fearless, especially the beautiful Roseates, when guarding 

 their eggs or young. The roseate tint on their breasts, so 

 noticeable in the spring, vanishes after death. Beautiful and 

 graceful, who can view them without feelings of admiration and 

 delight ? Thick fog does not seem to disturb them, and the local 

 boatmen can usually tell under such conditions how Muskeget 

 Island bears by watching the course of these birds. They also 

 direct the fishermen to where the schools of bluefish are feeding, 

 by hovering over the school, and darting down after the small fish 

 which the bluefish have driven to the surface. Yet these men 

 have but recently sought to appropriate their eggs by wholesale, 

 during their laying period, the result of which would be the 

 breaking up of their haunt, reducing their numbers, and driving 

 them from these waters. 



I cannot refrain from describing one Tern's nest containing 

 two eggs which I found on the South Beach, June 16, 1894, as it 

 was different from any I have ever before seen. It was but a 

 hollow in the beach sand, about thirty yards from the water. 

 The floor of this hollow was lined with small, flat stones about 

 half an inch across, and smooth, their upper surfaces being on a 

 level. I examined it critically, in order to ascertain if it were 

 accidental or artificially constructed. My conclusion was that 

 the stones had been brought and placed in position by the owner 

 of the nest. I was careful to examine the immediate surroundings 



