LESSER TERN. 157 



tide. They were of a yellowish brown colour, blotched 

 with rufous, and measured nearly an inch and three 



Suarters in length. During my whole stay, these birds 

 ew in crowds around me, and often within a few yards 

 of my head, squeaking like so many young pigs, which 

 their voice strikingly resembles. A humming bird, 

 that had accidentally strayed to the place, appeared 

 suddenly among this outrageous group, several of whom 

 darted angrily at him ; but he shot like an arrow from 

 them, directing his flight straight towards the ocean. I 

 have no doubt but the distressing cries of the terns had 

 drawn this little creature to the scene, having frequently 

 witnessed his anxious curiosity on similar occasions in 

 the woods. 



The lesser tern feeds on beetles, crickets, spiders, 

 and other insects, which it picks up from the marshes, 

 as well as on small fish, on which it plunges at sea. 

 Like the former, it also makes extensive incursions 

 inland along the river courses, and has frequently been 

 shot several hundred miles from the sea. It sometimes 

 sits for hours together on the sands, as if resting after 

 the fatigues of flight to which it is exposed. 



The lesser tern is extremely tame and unsuspicious, 

 often passing you on its flight, and within a few yards, 

 as it traces the windings and indentations of the shore 

 in search of its favourite prawns and skippers. Indeed, 

 at such times it appears either altogether heedless of 

 man, or its eagerness for food overcomes its apprehen- 

 sions for its own safety. We read in ancient authors, 

 that the fishermen used to float a cross of wood, in the 

 middle of which was fastened a small fish for a bait, 

 with limed twigs stuck to the four corners, on which 

 the bird darting was entangled by the wings. But this 

 must have been for mere sport, or for its feathers, the 

 value of the bird being scarcely worth the trouble, as 

 they are generally lean, and the flesh savouring strongly 

 offish. 



The lesser tern is met with in the south of Russia, 

 and about the Black and Caspian Sea ; also in Siberia 

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