; THE TERNS. v 205 



one egg. They varied considerably in colour, and some of the darker varieties approached those of the 

 Oyster-catcher. 



" On the same island, as well as on one or two of the others, was a colony of smaller Terns, 

 which were flying about and making a great noise, as long as we were near their eggs. They make 

 rather more of a nest than the Sandwich Tern, but it is nothing more than a slight depression in the 

 sand or shingle, with an apology for a lining composed of diy stalks of the bladder campion. In 

 some cases the eggs were laid on the ground without the slightest appearance of any nest, the eggs 

 being generally two, rarely three. We were told that these colonies of smaller Terns were of three 

 species, the Arctic, the Common, and the Roseate Tern, but the latter we were unable to make out. 

 The majority were undoubtedly Arctic Terns, with the brilliant orange bill and light grey breast, but we 

 could easily distinguish a considerable percentage of the Common Tern, with black-pointed bill and 

 pure white breast. It was quite impossible to identify the eggs, as the nests were too near together, 

 and the birds too shy. My drawer of these eggs contains eighty fine specimens, varying in colour 

 from that of a Snipe to that of a Jackdaw. I suspect that the large wide eggs, with the small end 

 pointed, are those of the Common Tern, and the small oval eggs are those of the Arctic Tern, but 

 there are so many eggs intermediate in shape and size, that it is impossible to know where to draw the 

 line. The Terns are very elegant birds upon the wing, their swallow-like shape, with their long 

 wings and long forked tails, being extremely graceful, while their brilliant orange legs and bills are in 

 exquisite harmony with the delicate dove-colour and white of the general plumage." 



In some of the nesting-places in the Tropics, however, the Terns assemble in prodigious numbers, 

 and on Ascension Island there are three of these " Wide-awake Fairs," as they are called. The late 

 Commander Sperling has given an account of a visit to one of these fairs, the bird which is called on 

 Ascension " Wide-awake " being the Sooty Tern (Sterna fuliginosa). " On the 8th of June, 

 1867," writes Sperling, "I was literally cast ashore on that island, for the periodical rollers were 

 dashing against the coast, and my boat was upset in the surf ; so giving myself a good shake, as 

 the only available means of drying my clothes, I started for ' Wide-awake Fair,' the name which the 

 blue-jackets who have visited the place have considered an appropriate one to designate the spot where 

 the birds gather for nesting purposes. Leaving Comfortless Cove about the middle of the day, I 

 walked over two dreary miles of cinders and ashes, uncheered by a symptom of vegetation, before I 

 noticed flocks of Terns converging from various parts of the ocean to a spot apparently about a mile 

 in front of me ; but as yet I observed nothing of the ' fair.' At length, on turning slightly to the 

 left, and surmounting a low ridge, the whole scene was disclosed. A gradual incline of a quarter of 

 a mile terminated in a plain of ten or fifteen acres in extent, which was literally covered with the 

 birds. The plain was surrounded by low mountains, except on the side on which we stood, and being 

 entirely sheltered from the wind, its heat under the full blaze of a tropical sun was very oppressive. No 

 description can give an adequate idea of the effect produced by the thousands upon thousands of these 

 wild sea-birds floating and screaming over this arid cinder bed, the eggs and young scattered so thickly 

 on the ground that in some instances it was impossible to avoid crushing them, and the bleached bones 

 of dead birds were distributed in all directions. During our short walk down the incline, large flocks 

 of parent birds hovered over our heads, and assailed us with plaintive cries, regardless of our sticks, 

 with which we might have killed any number of them ; but their beautifully pure dark and white 

 plumage and graceful motions caused it to appear almost a sin to knock any of them down. On 

 arriving within the precincts of the breeding-grounds their numbers increased ; large flocks were 

 arriving in endless succession from seaward ; clouds of birds rose from the ground, and, joining 

 those already attending us, their wheelings and gyrations almost made us giddy. I sat down on a 

 lump of cinder, and the society, being at length convinced that my policy was not aggressive, went on 

 with the ordinary routine of incubation. There were young of all sizes, from the little callow ones 

 just hatched to the nearly fledged birds that fluttered and crawled like young pigeons. There were 

 also lots of eggs exposed on the bare ground ; but in most instances the old bird sat on its solitary 

 treasure, hissing defiance as I approached, and fighting manfully if I attempted to remove it. The 

 young are of a very light sooty colour both above and beneath, the ends of most of the feathers having 

 a white spot the size of a pea, which gives them a speckled appearance. The whole of the ' fair,' both 

 in smell and appearance, reminds one of the effect produced by a sudden entry into a large pigeon house. 

 169 



