T I 



234 



T E R 



with 



ftah around our boaU, nothing cmn be marc pleaaing 

 than to observe ilu-ir IKHM and dip. When with their 

 M-ruliniting eye th< Mrrved a fish n 



near the . . pn-cipit.r 



. -._: . .. . . .11.,;' in \ 'ii:i: i I: il\ .1-1 ishing 



gl) reminds us of the fissirwtral 



<1 be tmly 



termed tlio swallow* of the ocean, their long and pointed 

 wing*. and *mii admirably 



a.i.i^, : : ( IMJ I H I I Mliuned flight. and affording th'c 

 mean* by are enabled to traverse tin- surface 



r-tiring wing*.' 



ir er.u-clul .solutions 



to far inland M near Oxford, wln-.c . outimially 



dipping in the Iu lor bleak, as it npi ..-,;< :l to u~. which 

 were alum- 



Mr. Selby states that this tern breeds upon tlie sand or 

 Jungle bcj'ond high-water mark, makinir no artificial mM. 

 but scraping a slight concavity for the reception of two or 

 three egg*. which \ary mueh in colour, the irround in MIMIC 

 being of a deep oil-irrccn. in others of n cream-white, or 

 pale wood-brown, but nil blotched with blackish-brow n and 

 all-grey. ' In warm and clear weather.' sa\ s Mr. Selby 

 in continuation, this bird inculcates but little dining the 

 day, in such situations the influence of the sun upon tin- 

 eggs being sufficient; but it sits upon them in the night. 



ilso through the day under a leas favourable -';>v of 

 weather. The young, when exclud. . . red with a 



mottled grey anil white down, and are assiduously attended 

 by th. and well supplied with food until able to 



1 accompany them to sea. During the time of in- 

 ciibatiun tlie old birds display great anxiety, and are very 

 clamorous when any one approaches their station, in flying 

 round and freijnently descending so near as to strike the 

 hat of the intn, 



The Tem was fonnerly conaidered choice food. Thus, 

 in the HocMehold-booh of the Krl of Northumberland 

 find Ternes' among the delicacies for princij)ul lea.-' 

 his lordship's own races ;' and they are charged at tour- 

 pence a dozen. 



The \<My. Hi'M-riiitinn. In this form of tern the 

 wings reach beyond the rounded tail. Forehead 

 passing into grey -ash towards the top of the head, and into 

 a deeper grey at the occiput, in front of the eyes a 

 black patch ;" throat and checks grey-brown ; ill the uppei 

 and lower plumage chocolate or sooty-brown. Bill and 

 feet black. r mijitial tin-nit.) Length about a 



foot 



,Tn:ihir,il Distribution iitnl Habit*. America prin- 

 cipally, Whew its head-quarters appear to be the (lull' of 

 Mexico, tlie coasts of Florida, and the Bahama Island).. 

 Dr. Latham was told that they breed in great numbers on 

 certain small rocky inlands near St. Helena. Mr. Audubon 

 observed numbers collected from the American 

 above mentioned in IKii on one of the Tortugaa, called, 

 from the flocks that \isit it. Noddy K 



Mr. Gould remarks that the noddy, unlike the generality 

 of terns, builds in bushes on low trees, making a large 

 nest of twigs and dry grass, while hovering over or 

 which the old birds utter a low querulous murmur : the 

 eggs, three in number, are reddish-yellow, with dull red 

 and purple patches and spots, and the young are said to 

 be \ery good eating. It does not take its prey like the 

 other terns, but as it skims along the water; and, when 

 full grown, seeks its food at much greater distances from 

 the land than the rest of the group. 



were shot oil' \Ve\ford in Ireland in 1830. Tem- 

 mincK ; t it has been seen in France, but hi 



never seen it on the coasts of Holland. 



Common Tna : two adulu : one In int-r. tlie other in itimmir plnmairf. 

 (Oould.) 



Th.- Tern, from 



tile 



tentinn. 'Hie time alhub '.en we had very 



;'ig the high winds that 

 vailed on Sundir. uir and floating-docks- WCIT 



nitiful s]n-. 

 i crn. Tlie liinl- 



r three hundred 

 wen 



i-aught H!: that many 



- of passers bv. Tin's 



.I with in all the la 1 

 It i- a summer \isitant to the i 



on record of a specimen ha\ r M this 



)>ourhood. Tlie appearance of sue! 

 !<, rare as a specie*, in the 



irence as remarkable n-s ; 

 Flock* of the same d 



'on, and other places along the Channel 

 Coas ' 



Mr. Nuttall gives a lively description of its hnbil.s. 

 ' Familiar to mariners who navigate in the equatorial 

 regions, the noddy, like ti 



the dist;i -. a tin- 



land, and with many other liini 

 Jjropensitii - in great 1: 



owing the their flnnv piey. They pursue mem 



by flying near the surface of tile water, and may now be 

 seen continually dropping on the small fish, which ap- 

 proach the surface to sliun the pcisecntion of the <; 

 kind-, by which they arc also harassed. A rippling and 

 silvery wlr marks the course, of the 



timid and tumultuous shoals ; and the whole air resounds 

 with the e these gluttonous anil grcedv biid>. 



who, cxulti t'.ir success, fill the air with 



their \aiicd but discordant dies. \Vhcre the stro 

 rippling a])]ii ars. then- tl'.e thickest swann of nmlili. 



..\l aie uniformly assembled. They frequently fl> on 

 1 of ships at -i-a. and are so stupid or indolent' on 

 .-casions. as to suiter them-eUes to be taken 1 



on which they settle : 1hc\ 



' however, when a-id BCrateh with iri. 



tion, leading <> 



from flight by C\CCS-:M- lumper, v 



imagined that the appeal:. n indicates 



the proximity of land : but in the manner of the common 

 tern, they i.dxciitiin ' -d, like the mariner 



himself, the shelter of whose friendly vessel they 

 I they often -i.nn for seveial day* at a tittle, 



I committing tliemsflves to the mercy oft he boundless ocean; 



