34 



in South Carolina, and as it formerly bred in Virginia, there would appear to be 

 no adequate reason why, if given proper protection, this species should not become 

 a summer resident on our coast. 



18. Sterna maxima (Bodd.}. ROYAL TERN. 



Ads. in spring. Top and back of head shining black, feathers lengthened to form a crest; 

 back of neck, underparts, and tail white; back and wings pearl-gray; inner web of primaries, 

 except at tip, white; outer web, and shaft part of inner web dark, silvery slate-color. Ads. after 

 the breeding season and in winter. Similar, but the top of the head streaked with black and 

 white. Im. Resembling young of S. caspia, but smaller and with the inner half of the inner 

 web of the primaries white. L., 19.00; W., 14.00; T., 7.00; B., 2.50. (Chap., Birds of E. N. A.) 



Range. Breeds from ,the West Indies to Virginia, winters from Gulf of Mexico to Peru and 

 Africa. 



Range in North Carolina. Coastal region in summer; breeds. 







"Royal Terns were recorded by Coues in 1871, and since have apparently been a 

 common summer resident along our shores, increasing greatly in numbers in recent 

 years as a result of the protection afforded them on their nesting grounds by the 

 wardens employed by the State Audubon Society. Like most of the species of this 

 family, they breed in colonies. Their eggs, one or two together, are placed among 

 the shells on the bare sand without any semblance of a constructed nest other than 

 a slight depression in the earth. The nests are seldom more than 12 or 14 inches 

 apart, and when their owners are breeding it is difficult at a little distance to see 

 the sand, so completely is it covered by the birds. 



"Their chief colony on the North Carolina coast is on Royal Shoal Island in 

 Pamlico Sound, about 10 miles from Ocracoke. Here, on June 25, 1907, the writer 

 found the birds occupying two plats of ground each 40 or 50 feet in width and 

 about 150 feet in length. On approaching one of these groups, the birds arose 

 en masse and hovered in the air, with heads to the wind. 



"Taking my stand to windward of the field of eggs, I at once had the satisfaction 

 of seeing the birds settling at the other end. Soon others began alighting nearer. 

 I remained stationary and watched the splendid sight. There were at least two 

 thousand birds in the flock, and only a few. minutes elapsed before the majority 

 were standing on the ground over their eggs, many within 12 or 15 feet of me. 

 Never for a moment did their prodigious screamings cease; in fact, their discordant 

 cries continued long after I had gone aboard the Audubon patrol-boat, Dutcher, 

 which lay for the night in the bight of the island. 



"As soon as the young are able to walk, they leave the nests and travel about 

 the island in flocks. I counted one company of three hundred and forty-one thus 

 engaged. When alarmed by my presence, they ran along the beach until, being 

 hard pressed, they plunged unhesitatingly into the water and in a compact mass 

 started toward the open sea. The young are supplied abundantly with small fish, 

 many of which may be picked up on the rookery. How, among the hundreds of 

 young running at large on the island, the parents are able to distinguish their 

 own is one of the many interesting questions of natural history as yet but poorly 

 answered . ' ' PEARSON . 



