NOTES ON THE BREEDING-HABITS OF THE 

 LITTLE TERN. 



BY 



THOMAS LEWIS, f.r.s. 



These notes on the Little Tern {Sterna a. albifrons) would have 

 been a good deal more complete had it not been for the almost 

 daily raids of egg hunters upon the birds' nests in the colony 

 which was under observation. This colony, new last year, 

 is on the southern part of the Norfolk sea coast. The Little 

 Tern, in company with a few pairs of Ringed Plover, nested 

 on the shingle and sand immediately above the usual high- 

 water mark and up to the base of the sandhills, the highest 

 of which formed good posts of observation ; other nests were 

 placed upon high banks of shingle amongst the sandhil^. 



The colony was formed by some fifty to sixty pairs of 

 birds and at one period there were over forty nests on the 

 beach. The birds and their habits were watched at frequent 

 intervals between the first week of May when a few pairs 

 arrived, until the iqth of June, on which date the colony was 

 almost completely destroyed by an egg-collector who swept 

 three-fourths of the eggs, most of them far gone in incubation 

 and some actually chipping, from the beach. The observa- 

 tions here recorded were made in part through glasses from 

 the sandhills, a large number of nests thus connng under 

 observation within a range of 150 yards, and upon three 

 nests more especially, close in front of each of which a tent 

 was set for several or many days. Some other nests quite 

 near to the tent also came under close and continuous 

 observation. 



For many days before the first eggs were laid (the first nest 

 of three eggs was found on May 30th) the male birds began 

 to carry fish to their partners. The female Terns would sit 

 on the sand, stand preening or bathe in the pools of water 

 left by the receding tide ; and here on the strand the male 

 birds would visit them assiduously, usually carrying in their 

 bills a small fish or sand-eel. Along the line of breakers or 

 a little way beyond it, ranged the flying Tern, wheeling about, 

 hovering and, ever and anon, dipping to the sea, with that 

 graceful dive which so characterizes this and the allied species 

 in their fishing. 



A Tern comes back from a successful hunt and drops 

 gracefully on the beach, the fish held nipped by the head and 



