364 LARID^E : JAEGERS, GULLS, TERNS, ETC. 



along the crests of the sand-hills. They were invariably 

 followed by vast mobs of enraged Terns, which dived 

 angrily down over the spot where the Owl had alighted, 

 or strung out in the wake of his flight like the tail of a 

 comet. The Owl commonly paid little attention to this 

 unbidden following, and apparently never tried to seize 

 his persecutors while on the wing, but on several occa- 

 sions we saw a sitting bird pounced upon and borne off. 

 Sometimes in the middle of the night a great outcry 

 among the Terns told where a tragedy was being 

 enacted. 



" I found the Terns sadly diminished in numbers 

 when I last visited Muskegat, in July, 1874. Their 

 persecutors were ravishing their stronghold more relent- 

 lessly than ever, and nearly every day fishermen came 

 from far and near to collect their eggs. So cleanly had 

 they swept the island that we could find scarcely a nest 

 with eggs, and at that comparatively late date not 

 a single young bird was to be seen. In fact, the poor 

 Terns were kept laying like hens through the whole 

 summer. We were told by the fishermen that quite as 

 many eggs were obtained by them in August as in June. 

 It is doubtful if one pair in a hundred succeeded in 

 raising offspring that year. Under such conditions the 

 result is inevitable. If prompt legislation be not 

 brought to bear on the matter, the time is near at hand 

 when the waters of the Vineyard Sound will no longer 

 be enlivened by these innocent birds. The inconsider- 

 able destruction of small fishes, a reason that has been 

 given for withholding protection, is of little moment, 

 and those barren, sandy shores can ill afford to lose the 

 presence of the graceful Sea-swallow. 



" Of the eggs of the three species of Terns which breed 



