Least Tern 387 



to the sea, where the constant ebb and flow of the tide evidently furnished 

 excellent opportunities for feeding. 



As soon as one bird was shot down on the water the others in the 

 neighborhood would come flying about overhead, dipping down and 

 shouting at the strange appearance of their helpless comrade. It was 

 then easy to make a large bag of birds in a few minutes. If the flock 

 was wild and difficulty was experienced in getting down the first bird all 

 they needed to do was to tie a handkerchief to a stick and throw it in 

 the air. This decoy falling to the water was sufficient to bring the near- 

 est Terns quickly within range of the guns. Because of its small size 

 the entire skin of the Least Tern was usually worn for hat decoration. 

 In the case of the larger Terns it was often customary to use only 

 the wings. 



For many years the killing of these birds has now been illegal and 

 the wardens of the National Association of Audubon Societies, and in 

 two cases the wardens of State Game Commissions, have been guarding 

 the summer colonies of Terns along our coast. In some sections the 

 Least Tern is recovering its numbers to a limited extent. For example, 

 when the first Audubon warden began guarding the colonies on the North 

 Carolina coast, which was in the year of 1903, so scarce had the Least 

 Tern become that only fourteen eggs were laid that year. By careful 

 guarding, the birds increased until three years later 

 by fairly accurate count made by the warden in Protection 

 charge, five hundred and seventy-seven Least Terns 

 are believed to have been raised. The number steadily increased another 

 year or two, when heavy storm-tides sweeping the low-lying islands de- 

 stroyed the eggs and young alike and for a time prevented further 

 increase. 



The Audubon Law in North Carolina put an end to this slaughter, 

 but only when the Least Tern had decreased almost to the point of ex- 

 termination and the other Terns of the region had become vastly reduced 

 in numbers. 



This killing also went on along the coast of South Carolina, Georgia. 

 Florida and Louisiana ; in fact, wherever the Least Tern was found there 

 came men with guns, ammunition, arsenic, and plaster of Paris readv 

 to transform the living bird into a hat decoration. 



( )n the coast of Massachusetts, chiefly as a result of numerous 

 cats brought by summer residents, the Least Tern appears to be passing 

 away. According to E. H. Forbush, who in 1917 carefully examined 

 the few remaining Massachusetts Tern islands, the principal colonies are 

 now located at Cape Cod and on and in the neighborhood of Martha's 

 Vineyard. 



There is a small colony on the sandy point of Raccoon Island, South 

 Carolina, and a few are breeding at Dry Tortugas, Florida. In June, 

 1918, Carlos Earle reported that there were a number 

 of Least Terns breeding on one or more islands near Toda'v* 



the mouth of Tampa Bay. On June 30, 1918, I 

 found a group of perhaps fifty pairs feeding their young on a small 

 sandy island in Caxambas Pass. Lee County, Florida. There are some 

 colonies on the islands in Mississippi Sound, and on June 16, 1918. 



