VARIATION IN THE NES IS OF THE ARCTIC 

 AND COMMON TERNS. 



BY 



F. B. KIRKMAN, b.a., oxon. 



In a recent number of British Birds* Mr. W. P. Py craft 

 contributed a highly stimulating paper on the subject 

 of nests, with special reference to those of the Ringed 

 Plover. It dealt not only with variation in site and 

 material, but also with the origin of the nest-building 



Fig. 1. — Nest of Common Tern. 



instinct. The present paper supplements his observations 

 on the first of these two subjects. It is based on the 

 examination of some fifty nests of Arctic and Common 

 Terns, and will, it is trusted, help to throw further light 

 on what is a very obscure problem. 



* Vol. I., pp. 373-380. 



