GULLS AND TERNS. 57 



as extensive as in the other common British species. 

 Like its congeners it is eminently a bird of the air, 

 flying up and down in restless uncertain flight, 

 living almost entirely on the wing during the 

 daytime, only seeking the sands or the sea to sleep 

 or to rest. It may be watched flying along the 

 coast, a short distance from land, in a slow irregular 

 way, every now and then poising for a second, and 

 then dropping into the water with a tiny splash to 

 seize a fish or a crustacean. Its note is not quite 

 so harsh as that of the larger species, and may be 

 described as a shrill pirr, most frequently uttered 

 when its breeding places are invaded. Its food is 

 composed of small fish, insects, sand -lice, and 

 crustaceans, most of which is secured whilst the 

 bird is on the wing. 



The Lesser Tern begins breeding in June. Like 

 all the other species it returns unfailingly to certain 

 spots along the coast each summer, and may, there- 

 fore, be presumed to pair for life. Its favourite 

 breeding-grounds are extensive stretches of sand, 

 varied with slips and banks of coarser shingle. 

 It makes no nest, not even so much as scratching 

 a hollow for its eggs, but lays them on the bare 

 ground. It is most interesting to remark that 

 this Tern never lays its eggs on the fine sand, 

 but always on the bits of rough beach where the 

 ground is strewn with little stones, broken shells, 

 and other ddbris of the shore where their colour 

 harmonises so closely with surrounding objects 



