"The favourite breeding haunts of the Lesser Tern are on sandy flat coasts." 



THE LESSER TERN 



HIS bird is the smallest of 

 the sea swallows resorting 

 to the British Archipelago 

 to breed. It only measures 

 between eight and nine 

 inches in length, although 

 it looks longer when on the 

 wing. It may easily be 

 distinguished from its congeners, the 

 Common and Arctic Terns, by its smaller 

 size, and the fact that it has a white 

 patch on the forehead just above the 

 base of the bill. The practised ornith- 

 ologist, can also readily recognise it by 

 the difference in the sound of its call 

 notes. It is not so numerous as either 

 of the above-mentioned species, and in 

 the breeding season is more frequently 

 met with in companies consisting of 

 a few pairs than in large colonies. 



The favourite breeding haunts of the 

 lesser Tern are on sandy flat coasts, 

 interspersed with banks of shells and 

 small shingle. It sometimes nests on 

 the shores of large bodies of fresh water, 

 such as Loch Lomond, but this is more 

 commonly the case on the Continent 

 than in this country. For some un- 

 known reason the bird exhibits consider- 

 able fickleness in regard to its breeding 

 ground. One season a small number of 

 pairs may arrive, and the next a com- 

 paratively large colony, without any 

 apparent reason for the change. 



Very little in the way of nest-building 

 is attempted. Sometimes a slight hollow 

 is made in the sand and lined with small 

 shells, and at others the eggs are laid 

 upon the sand or shingle, without any 

 discernible attempt on the part of the 



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