EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT. 171 



for its young, will make one dash at the water and seize a small 

 fish crosswise in its beak. 



It is not until late in May that these curious birds arrive from 

 the south and scatter to their various breeding-grounds along the 

 coast. Whether they pair for life I do not know, but the re- 

 markably close association of pairs during the summer, whether 

 making the nest, incubating the eggs, or feeding, would lend 

 credence to such a theory. 



For nesting-places the birds select the upper portion of the 

 beach, which is thickly strewn with clam and oyster shells and 

 scattered bits of sea-weed. Here they nest in colonies, eight to 

 ten birds sometimes laying their eggs within an area of a few 

 square yards. A small depression is hollowed out in the sand, 

 and, this simple preparation having been made, three or four 

 eggs are deposited. These are very beautiful, the ground color 

 being white, and the whole surface spotted and splashed with 

 black and brown. They vary greatly, and one specimen was seen 

 which was entirely white with only a single large blotch of black 

 on the side. 



One would think that such coloration would render the eggs 

 very conspicuous, but such is not the case, and we had to use the 

 greatest care to keep from trampling on the eggs before we saw 

 them. When an oyster-shell happened to extend within the nest, 

 the bird apparently made no attempt to remove it, and in no less 

 than six instances we noticed one of the eggs resting in the hol- 

 low of a clam-shell. 



We were too early to find young Skimmers, as the birds had 

 been delayed by the destructive high tides, but the old birds were 

 a never-ending source of interest. From the actions of certain 

 individuals it is probable that a very few of the eggs had been 

 hatched. The proverbial needle in a haystack is an easy task 

 compared to finding one or two young sand-colored Skimmers 

 among the miles of dunes, and all search which we made was in 

 vain. 



There were two scattered colonies of Skimmers on the island, 

 probably fifty pairs of birds altogether. They were much more 

 solicitous as regards the welfare of their eggs than were the 

 gulls or terns. As we walked up the beach we could see the birds 

 in the distance sitting on their nests, their black upper parts 

 showing conspicuously against the sand, — all facing up wind. 

 The danger line once crossed, all the birds rose as one and wheel- 

 ing outward swooped past us, their scissor-like mandibles work- 

 ing as they uttered their anxious yeh ! yeh ! As we approached 



