ON LONELY BIRD KEY 87 



the United States. Each is about the size of a pigeon, slender 

 and graceful, with rather long, pointed wings. The Sooty 

 Tern is deep black in its upper plumage and snow-white 

 below, while the Noddy is dark brownish gray all over, save 

 for a whitish cap on its head. The Noddy reminds me of 

 photographic negatives of our common terns of the North, 

 which are of the reverse shades of color, so that I had the 

 constant feeling of being in a strange part of the world where 

 the accustomed order was upset, as though antipodal China- 

 men were walking on their heads, and white were here black. 

 The Sooty Terns form the great majority of the population 

 of Bird Key. There are such clouds of them that accurately 

 to estimate their numbers was impossible, but my guess of 

 six or eight thousand I think cannot be far out of the way. 

 Of the Noddies there are hardly a thousand, which is a 



THE NESTING NODDY. "A CASE OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT 



