OF THE UNITED STATES 189 



with bill pointed directly downward, w r hen with a sudden dive 

 they plunge into that element to capture the small fish upon 

 which most the species largely subsist. Others, and usually the 

 smaller forms of terns, skim, swallow fashion, over marshes and 

 similar wet places, to gratify their more or less insectivorous 

 tastes. Thus they have gained for themselves the almost world- 

 wide name of sea-swallow, and it is quite suited to thenr -Terns 

 are very indifferent swimmers, however, being far behind the 

 gulls in this particular. A writer upon this subject says, " The 

 eggs are laid in a slight depression in the ground, generally the 

 shingle of beaches, or in a tussock of grass in a marsh, or in a 

 rude nest of sticks in low bushes. They are one to three in num- 

 ber, variegated in color. Most of the species are maritime, and 

 such is particularly the case with noddies, but nearly all are 

 found inland. They are noisy birds, of shrill penetrating voice, 

 and no less gregarious than gulls, often assembling in multitudes 

 to breed, and generally moving in company. Species occur near 

 water in almost every part of the world, and most of them are 

 widely distributed. Of those occurring in North America, the 

 majority are found in corresponding latitudes in the Old World. 

 Some seventy species are currently reported. The true number 

 is apparently just about that of the gulls (about fifty)." 



The present writer has collected the Black tern in the marshes 

 of Wisconsin, and as far in the interior as Wyoming. I have 

 taken the Least tern frequently on Long Island Sound and the 

 Potomac river, while the Noddy has often fallen to my gun on 

 the coast of Florida and in the Bahamas, as has also the Sooty 

 tern (Sterna fuliginosa). There, too, I have collected the lovely 

 Roseate tern, and numerous other species. But wherever we 

 find them, or of whatever species, they cannot fail to command 

 our attention and excite our interest, for among sea fowl, at 

 least, they are to be reckoned with the loveliest forms of bird- 

 life that cleave the air or fearlessly plunge into the waters to 

 capture their finny prey. 



We have in our United States avifauna four different and 

 well-marked species of jaegers or skua gulls. These have been 

 placed in two distinct genera, that of Megalestris and of Stercor- 

 uriufi; the first-named containing the Common skua (M. skua), 

 and the latter the Fomarine jaeger, the Parasitic jaeger, and 

 the Long-tailed jaeger (tf. pontariH-us, $. parasiticus, and *Sf. longi- 

 x* respectively). 



