238 THE BIRDS OF OUR RAMBLES. 



from the water's edge, on the rising shingle- 

 covered ground of the island. Many nests, how- 

 ever, are dotted here and there amongst the 

 coarse grass and campion. The Sandwich Tern 

 makes a poor, untidy nest, a few bits of withered 

 herbage strewn at the bottom of a little hollow 

 being the usual receptacle for the eggs. It will 

 also be remarked that the nests are most elabo- 

 rate when made amongst the herbage, and when 

 on the bare shingle a mere depression in the 

 beach is all the provision that is made. The 

 eggs (two or three in number) are remarkably 

 beautiful objects, varying in ground colour from 

 white to buff, spotted, clouded, and blotched with 

 rich dark brown, paler brown, and gray. Some- 

 times an exceptionally high tide swamps the 

 colony of nests, and then the birds usually lay 

 again, but otherwise only one clutch is deposited. 

 As soon as the young become strong on the wing 

 the southern flight leisurely begins. The note of 

 this bird is a harsh krrick. The food of the 

 Sandwich Tern is composed chiefly of fish, which 

 are caught by the birds plunging down upon 

 them ; crustaceans, sand-lice, and beetles are 

 also eaten, especially by the nestlings. 



Two other species of these elegant birds 

 remain to be mentioned, and they are by far 



widely the most widely dispersed, the COMMON TERN 

 (S. hirundo\ more especially on our southern 



widely coasts ; the ARCTIC TERN (S. arcticd) being 

 most abundant in the northern districts. Both 

 birds are very much alike, but of the two the 

 Common Tern is a trifle the shortest tailed, and 

 has nearly white underparts, those of the Arctic 

 Tern being gray. In their habits there is little 



