PLATE I 

 COMMON TERN. Sterna fluviatilis 



June $th, 1896. This nest was placed in a small grassy moor on the 

 Culbin Sands, Morayshire, not far from the sea. There was a pretty large 

 colony of Common Terns there that season, though in 1887 I found only 

 Arctic Terns at this particular place. 



In spite of the mild early spring this was the only nest which contained 

 its full complement of eggs, most of the others having only one egg, and 

 one or two being still empty. 



Close to this little moor was a small marshy loch, over which the Terns 

 were constantly hovering ; there are no fish in it, so they must have been 

 after insects of some kind. I have often seen the Black-headed Gulls chasing 

 the ghost moths in the grass fields in the summer evenings, catching them 

 with quite an audible snap ; so perhaps the Terns were devouring the dragon- 

 flies, which abound on the reeds. 



VOL. in. G 25 



