upon the ground and are simply grass- 

 lined depressions. The three or four 

 eggs in a set are clay-colored or brown 

 ish ashy in general color and are spot 

 ted, blotched, and scrawled with a 

 brownish color. 



The King Rail or Marsh Hen fre 

 quents the fresh-water marshes of the 

 eastern United States. Both for nesting 

 and feeding it prefers a marsh which is 

 covered with a luxuriant growth of 

 sedges. Its breeding range extends 

 northward as far as Connecticut and 

 Wisconsin, and occasionally it may nest 

 as far northward as Ontario. The nests 

 are lined with grasses and may be on the 

 ground of marshes, or they may be built 

 in a tussock of grass in very wet places. 

 The number of eggs in a set varies from 

 seven to twelve. 



The American Coot or Mud-hen (Fu- 

 lica americana} has a wide range, cov 

 ering North America from Greenland 

 and Alaska southward to the West In 

 dies and Central America. The Coots 

 nest locally quite throughout their range, 

 though during the nesting season they 

 are comparatively rare on the Atlantic 

 coast. The nests of these interesting 

 birds are built of reeds and grasses in 

 fresh-water marshes. They are usually 

 made of dry reed stalks, so broken as 

 to form platforms which are from a few 

 inches to a foot or more above the 

 water. It is said that the nests are 

 frequently located over water, which is 

 from two to four feet in depth. Float 

 ing nests are sometimes constructed, 

 which are very similar to those of the 

 grebes, but they are more firmly an 

 chored and more carefully protected 

 from moisture on the upper side. The 

 number of eggs in a set varies from 

 eight to fifteen, and they are finely speck 

 led with chocolate or black. 



The Terns nest in colonies, and usu 

 ally their nests are placed upon the 

 ground, though the Black Terns some 

 times build their nests on masses of 

 floating vegetation in sloughs. 



The Least Tern (Sterna antillarum] 

 nests nearly, though locally throughout 

 the range which extends from Northern 

 South America northward to Minnesota 

 and New England, and casually to Lab 



rador. The nests of this beautiful bird 

 are on the sand or gravel of a beach, and 

 the two to four eggs in the set are so 

 similar in their color to their surround 

 ings that they are not easily detected. 

 A s the eggs are exposed to the sun .dur 

 ing the day, the Least Tern rarely cov 

 ers them during the day time. In this 

 habit it is like other species of terns. 



The Sooty Tern (Sterna fuliginosa) 

 inhabits the tropical and subtropical re 

 gions. In the Americas its range ex 

 tends from Chili northward to Western 

 Mexico and onward to North Carolina. 

 Occasionally it has been observed as far 

 north as the state of Maine. These Terns 

 are known to breed, though rarely, as 

 far north as North Carolina. Mr. Chap 

 man says : "It breeds in colonies in lit 

 tle-frequented islands in the West Indies, 

 and may be seen fishing in flocks, which 

 hover low over the water." The eggs 

 are laid in a depression in the sand of 

 an open sea beach. Occasionally the 

 nest is in the thick herbage bordering 

 the sandy beach. 



The Black Tern (Hydrochelidon 

 nigra surinamensis) has a long range, 

 extending from Brazil northward to 

 Alaska and the fur countries, and it 

 breeds from the middle United States, 

 west of the Alleghanies, northward. The 

 nests of this Tern consist of somewhat 

 closely woven reeds and grasses placed 

 on the ground in grassy marshes, upon 

 floating masses of vegetation or sup 

 ported by broken-down reeds. The pale 

 brownish or grayish-olive eggs are usu 

 ally two or three to the set, though oc 

 casionally four have been found. 



The Common Murres (Uria troile) 

 are gregarious, especially during the 

 breeding season, when they will sit upon 

 their eggs upon a rocky ledge in a row, 

 the birds almost touching each other and 

 living in perfect harmony. No nest is 

 built, the single egg being often laid on 

 the bare rock. It is said that the mother 

 seldom leaves her egg, and she is fed 

 by the male. In North America the 

 Common Murre breeds from Nova Sco 

 tia northward on the coast and islands 

 of the North Atlantic. Mr. Oliver Davie 

 says: "The eggs are so numerous as 

 to have commercial value, and they 



161 



