THE EGG BIRDS 



193 



Bird photography with such willing subjects became as 

 simple as the photographing of nest and eggs alone ; while 

 Fuertes found sitters who seemed to appreciate the honor of 

 being immortalized by his pencil. 





Noddy Terns 



" Regarded us calmly almost at arm's length " 



It is the normal habit of the Noddy to build a crude plat- 

 form-nest of twigs with a few pebbles or shells, on top of 

 the bushes. Many birds on Washerwoman Key had con- 

 structed such a dwelling, but by far the greater number laid 

 on the ground under the dense thickets, and built no nest 

 at all. 



Possibly the ground-nesting habit is a result of the per- 

 secution by negro spongers to which the birds have long 

 been subjected. The birds which nested on top of the bushes 

 were far more likely to be robbed than those which deposited 

 their eggs on the ground on rocks below, and the birds with 



