AMONG THE SEA-BIRDS. 123 



fluttering host remonstrate loudly at our intrusion, and 

 fly to and fro full of anxiety and alarm ; nor do they settle 

 down again until our boat is well out from shore. 



The next island we visit is famous for the large and 

 beautiful Sandwich Tern. For time out of mind these 

 interesting birds have used this island for a breeding 

 place, in spite of the fact that they have been sadly 

 persecuted by tourists and sightseers ; and occasionally 

 their eggs have been washed away by unusually high 

 tides. Sometimes the eggs are laid on the shingly 

 beach, and sometimes at a considerable distance inland 

 from the water. Noisy and anxious the birds become 

 as we land upon their island home, and the entire colony 

 rises into the air to watch our movements. The Sand- 

 wich Tern makes a slight nest on the shingle or amongst 

 the sea campion and coarse grass, and lays two or three 

 eggs much larger than those of the preceding species. 

 They are remarkably handsome and vary from white to 

 dark buff in ground colour, spotted, blotched, streaked 

 and splashed with varying shades of rich brown and 

 gray. As we walk along the rough beach of this 

 particular island we observe a pair of Oyster-catchers 

 flying rapidly over the sea piping to each other most 

 vociferously. Let us bend our steps towards yonder 

 stretch of pebbles and search just above the line of 

 drifted rubbish for their nest. We find several " mock 

 nests " before discovering the one containing the eggs. 



