BLACK TERN 



77. Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis. 10 in. 



Adults in summer with the head, neck and underparts, 

 black; back, wings and tail, dark gray; eyes brown. 

 In winter, the forehead, neck and underparts are white; 

 nape and patch back of eye blackish. 



In summer these little terns are found only in the 

 interior, where they nest about marshy ponds. They 

 are very pugnacious and will sometimes touch an in- 

 truder with their wings as they dart past. As usual 

 with the family, they nest in colonies. 



Notes. A sharp "peek." (Chapman). 



Nest. A pile of weeds and trash in sloughs on the 

 prairies, or about the edges of marshy lakes, the nests 

 often being surrounded by, and partly floating in the 

 water. The three eggs are very dark colored, having 

 an olive-brown or greenish background, blotched with 

 black. (1.35x.95). 



Range. Breeds in the interior from middle U. S. 

 north to Alaska and Hudson Bay; winters south of the 

 U. S., migrating along the Atlantic coast as well as in 

 the interior. 



