570 



THE BLACK TERN. 



voir. On these occasions they feed with a peculiar motion, by which they 

 cull some tidbit from the surface of the weed-strewn water, and regain a 

 higher level after each stroke without wetting the wings ; but whether they 

 find insect prey or only vegetable matter, I have not been able to determine. 

 In searching for the nests of the Black Tern one must penetrate the 



oozy recesses 

 of some un- 

 d i s t urbed 

 swamp, pref- 

 erably in a 

 flat - boat. 

 Here in a 

 secluded bay- 

 ou the birds 

 will hover 

 about the in- 

 truder, fret- 

 t i n g and 

 screaming in- 

 cessantly. If 

 the water be- 

 comes too 

 thick with 

 mud and tan- 

 gled vegeta- 

 tion to admit 

 of easy pass- 

 age, one must 

 be content to 

 strip off and 

 wade through 

 black water, 

 say six inches 

 deep, over 

 black mud 

 one and a half 

 feet deep, and 

 be prepared 

 as well for 

 o c c a sional 

 JUST OUT. plunges into 



EGG AND YOUNG OP BLACK TERN. 11 II CD ET iCQ 



Taken near Sandusky. 



Photo by the Author. 



