Vol. XII. 

 1912 



1 Bell, Breeding Habits of White Tern. 2Q 



feet very slowly and gently, rocking their bodies slightly from 

 side to side as though to work the tips of their feathers from under 

 their eggs. Their actions on returning are somewhat different. 

 They advance very close to the eggs (almost touching them), then 

 fluff out all their feathers to their utmost, cover the eggs, and 

 settle down upon them, returning their feathers to their normal 

 position and rocking themselves from side to side as though to 

 work the tips of their breast feathers well under the eggs. 



As far as I am aware, the male bird sits throughout the whole 

 period of incubation. I have at various times captured these 

 birds, and without exception every one taken while on the egg 

 was a male bird. Exactly how long the egg takes to incubate 

 is not known for certain, but apparently it is not very long — 

 probably not exceeding a month. When the egg is hatched one 

 of the parent birds (probably the male) stays by the young for a 

 week or ten days, apparently never leaving it for a moment, 

 while the other brings minute fish and feeds the young one. The 

 little fish are held crosswise, placed head to tail, in the bird's bill. 

 Rarely fewer than two fish are brought at once, but sometimes as 

 many as four. The bird must, therefore, hold one fish in its bill while 

 catching another. It is a very common sight to see the White 

 Terns fishing. They simply flutter over the water and catch the 

 fish as they (the fish) jump out of the water. 



It was noticeable that both the eggs and young of the White Tern, 

 in general colour and markings, closely resembled the branches 

 on which they are laid or hatched. For instance, a light-coloured 

 egg is almost always found on a light-coloured branch, and a 

 dark-coloured egg is, without exception, always found on a dark- 

 coloured branch, and generally in a very shady place. The same 

 is true of the young birds even to a greater extent. Their colour 

 varies, when just hatched, from dark brownish-grey to very 

 light grey, or almost white. They all gradually become lighter 

 as they grow older, but they are still far from uniform, even when 

 full feathered. 



When approached the young birds lie down on the branch with 

 their necks stretched out, in which position they may easily be 

 mistaken for a little knob of grey lichen. They are very active, 

 and run up and down the branch on which they live and squeal 

 whenever a bird flies close to them. They seem to have a great 

 dislike for Tuis {Prosthemadera novce-zealandice), for these birds 

 never miss an opportunity of attacking the Terns. The young 

 cling to the bark of their home-branch most tenaciously if any 

 attempt is made to handle them ; indeed, if they get a good grip 

 with both feet I believe it would be well nigh impossible to pull 

 them away without dislocating their legs, for their feet are armed 

 each with three large hooked claws. These grip the wood at the 

 three points of a triangle, so that the more they are pulled the 

 tighter they hold. 



The young bird grows very quickly, and soon becomes feathered ; 

 but a remarkable point about them is that they can fly while they 



