102 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



one, lying in the shingle, was without lining of any sort. 

 The material used in the case of the others consisted of 

 small twigs, chiefly broom, coarse stems, dry grass and 

 Hchen. By using one of these materials, or combining 

 two or three, the fourteen birds in question managed 

 to produce seven variations, of which one is shown in 

 Fig. 8. This species, also, according to Mr. Kearton, lays 

 its eggs on bare rock. As in the case of the Arctic 



Fig. 6. — Arctic Tern's Nest, with Pebbles and Bent. 



Terns, no definite relation between site and material could 

 be traced. 



A word about the Little Tern. The late Howard 

 Saunders stated that it uses no material for its nest. Mr. 

 Fred. Austen, the watcher at Romney Marsh, endorses 

 this, adding that the hen alone constructs the nest, which 

 she does by the simple process of working her body round 

 and round in the pebbles, much like a dog preparing 

 its bed for a nap. But the late H. A. Macpherson des- 

 cribes two nests (t.c, p. 418) one lined with " dry stems of 



