348 FIELD ZOOLOGY. 



to try a home in the interior states, and so may occasion- 

 ally be found nesting as far from large water bodies as 

 in Iowa and Kansas, the smaller lakes and ponds supply- 

 ing their needs. 



Terns, as a rule, nest on the fringing islands and in 

 the marshes and lagoons from Greenland to Mexico, 

 according to the species. The common tern, sometimes 

 called the summer gull and the sea swallow, nests along 

 many of the northern inland lakes as well as along the 

 coasts. The ocean terns seldom fly far from land, and 

 usually hollow out a depression in the sand for their 

 nests. The petrels nest on the island-fringed coast of 

 Maine, and from there northward. They come from 

 their southern winter quarters in May. The nest may be 

 a burrow in the sand or under a rock. These birds are 

 small; they are often called sea swallows. During the 

 incubating season, one bird sits on the nest during the 

 day while the other bird is away feeding; during the 

 night, it is thought the order is reversed. 



The food of gulls consists of fish, young birds. that 

 may have died, the flesh of seals when it is obtainable, 

 whale blubber, sea urchins, crabs, rabbits, and the eggs of 

 cormorants, murres, and other sea birds. The ocean 

 gulls fly far from land, and their long continued flight 

 without return to land reminds one of the flight of the 

 dragon flies over the surface of their miniature ocean. 

 These are the birds that follow outgoing ships, and are 

 rewarded by many a meal of refuse thrown overboard 

 from the ship's galley. They are largely fish-eaters, but 

 are also effective scavengers of the ocean. They have 

 various nesting habits, building their nests of grass or 

 sticks, sometimes placing it in trees, sometimes on 

 stumps, and even on the ground. 



