BIRDS OF GUERNSEY. 191 



pairs of birds about, but we could not find any other 

 nests ; these four were on the hard rocks, with little 

 or no attempt at a real nest. This was the only 

 one of the small rocky islands on which we found 

 Terns breeding, though we searched every one of 

 them that had any land above water at high tide ; 

 the others, of course, were useless. I had expected 

 for some time that Common Terns did breed on 

 some of these rocks, as I have an adult female in 

 full breeding-plumage, which had been shot on the 

 29th June, 1877, near St. Samson's, which is only 

 about three miles from these Islands, and which 

 certainly showed signs of having been sitting ; and 

 Mr. Jago, the birdstuffer, had one in full breeding- 

 plumage, killed at Herm early in June, 1878 ; but 

 several of the sailors about, and some friends of 

 mine who were in the habit of visiting these islands 

 occasionally, seemed very sceptical on the subject ; 

 but Mr. Howard Saunders and I quite settled 

 the question by finding the eggs, and we also 

 thoroughly identified the birds. The Common Tern 

 seemed to be the only species of Tern breeding on 

 the rocks ; we certainly saw nothing else, and no 

 Common Terns even, except on the one island on 

 which we found the eggs. The autumnal visitants 

 are mostly young birds of the year, some of them, of 

 course, having been bred on the Islands and others 

 merely wanderers from more distant breeding- 

 stations. No young Terns appeared to have flown 



