Terns 



buoyancy of flight, in dash and impetuosity, it certainly owns 

 ' no master among its own accomplished kin, and suggests the 

 movements of the swallow alone among the land birds. Skim- 

 ming just above the marshes near the sea or inland waters, 

 as any swallow might, to feed upon the dragon-flies and other 

 winged insects that dart in and out of the sedges, this little tern 

 flashes its silvery breast in the sunlight, swallow fashion, and 

 appears to have the "sandals of lightning on its feet" and "soft 

 wings swift as thought " sung of by Shelley. 



Off the shores of the low, sandy islands on the extreme 

 southeastern coast of Massachusetts, where these terns nest regu- 

 larly, though in sadly decreased numbers, they may be seen in 

 company with the common tern, the roseate and the Arctic 

 species, that also make their summer home there, as the joyous 

 birds hunt in loose flocks together above the waves. There can 

 be no difficulty in picking out the dainty, elegant little figure 

 that floats and skims in mid-air, with bill pointing downward 

 as if it were a lance to spear some tiny fish swimming in the ocean 

 below. 



Hovering for an instant on widely outstretched wings, like 

 a miniature hawk, the next instant it has suddenly plunged after 

 its prey, to reappear with it in its bill, since its feet are too 

 webbed and weak to carry anything; and, if the season be mid- 

 summer, it will doubtless head straight for its nest on the sand, 

 to drop its spoils in the midst of a brood of three or four very 

 tame young fledglings. In Minnesota, Dakota, and other inland 

 states, both old and young birds feed almost entirely on insects. 



All terns keep so closely within the lines of family traditions 

 that a description of one member answers for each, with a few 

 minor changes; and the reader is referred to the life history of 

 the common tern for fuller particulars of the least species, to 

 avoid constant repetition. Although this little bird nests directly 

 on the sand, leaving the greater part of its incubating duties to 

 the sun, as other terns do, its eggs may be easily distinguished, 

 which is not true of the others, because of their smaller size and 

 buffy white, brittle shells that are often wreathed with chocolate 

 markings around the larger end, the rest of the egg being plain. 



Some one has described the bird's voice as "a sharp squeak, 

 much like the cry of a very young pig." 



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