204 General Notes. \_A:p}i\ 



in another two days. This small colony has inhabited the island for a 

 great many years and as they are not disturbed will undoubtedly continue 

 to do so. It is the only colony in Narragansett Bay. 



On June 27, 1S96, I visited the Weepecket Islands in Buzzard's Bay. 

 There are three islands in this group — Great and the two Little 

 Weepeckets. I landed first on the most eastern of the two little ones, an 

 island of about an acre in extent. This island has been slowly cut away 

 by the action of the sea until now it presents a plateau-like appearance, 

 some ten feet high, surrounded by a narrow rocky shore. Although as I 

 approached the island at least fifty Terns arose from it, I found but three 

 nests, all containing two eggs each ; these nests were placed on the edge of 

 the plateau and were quite well hidden among grass and poison ivy {Rhus 

 toxicodendron) . 



The Roseate Terns {Sterna doiigalli) were apparently the only inhab- 

 itants of this island, their long tail-feathers, bills, and harsh cries, beside 

 the appearance of the eggs, proved their identity. 



I next landed on the other Little Weepecket, an island resembling 

 almost exactly its neighbor in size, topography, etc., and from which rose 

 about the same number of Terns; however, there proved to be a few 

 Wilson's in addition to the prevailing species, the Roseates, inhabiting 

 this island, as was proved by iny finding a typical set of three eggs on 

 the beach above tide water. Three other nests were found, all Roseates ( }), 

 and containing two eggs each; one of these was on the beach and the 

 other two along the edge of the plateau and bin-ied among scrubby poison 

 ivy which covered thickly and entirely the whole crest of the island. The 

 two sets on the beach were perfectly fresh. 



It was not until June 30 that I landed on Great Weepecket, the most 

 western of the three islands and of some twelve acres in extent. Its uplands 

 are covered with scrub sumac {R/ius copallinaP), low barberry, blackberry, 

 mullein {Verbascum tkapsus) and yarrow {Achillea millefolium), and beach 

 grass {Ammophila arundinacea). The southeastern shore of the island 

 is a continuous beach, while the northwestern side is a steep bank cut 

 away by the action of the sea. The southerly and northerly ends of the 

 uplands are composed entirely of sand and covered with a sparse growth 

 of beach grass. These sandy points, and in fact almost all the upland, 

 are inhabited bv a great many mice and their runways are to be seen in 

 every direction. I was unable to get any specimens for identification. 

 Beside a few Song Sparrows {Melospiza fasciata), Spotted Sandpipers 

 {Aciitis macitl^ria), a nest of which contained four hard set eggs, and a 

 pair of Kingfishers {Ceryle alcyo?i), w-hose nest my companion dug out 

 and found to contain eight pin-feather covered 3'oung, the Terns were the 

 sole inhabitants of the island. 



I checked off the eggs on the uplands and found, two nests containing 

 no eggs ; three nests containing one egg each ; seven nests containing two 

 eggs each ; twelve nests containing three eggs each ; one nest containing 

 four eggs, and one dropped egg, and one Wilson's chick ( .?) in down. 



