ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 7 



the counterpart of that, the underparts be- 

 ing pure white instead of drab and the tail 

 silvery instead of white, the outer vanes of 

 the long outer feathers white and the inner 

 darker than the rest of the tail. In winter 

 plumage it is distinguishable from the dis- 

 appearing of the black crown except a black 

 stripe on each side of the head. Its note 

 is similar to that of the Common Tern but 

 noticeably on a lower key. 



The nesting of the four species of Terns 

 above given is quite similar, and under cer- 

 tain circumstances quite variable. 



Commonly the nest is a depression in 

 the ground with a slight arrangement of 

 dried grasses. If the nest is in the grass, it 

 may be quite well built up ; if on the shore, 

 it may be only a slight hollow in the sand; 

 or, fine pebbles on bits of slate may be cir- 

 cularly arranged after the manner of the 

 Killdeer; or the egg or eggs may be laid 

 directly on the green-sward. The com- 

 plete number of eggs is most commonly 

 two, often one, sometimes three. About 

 1.74x1-13 and regularly ovate, they are 

 some shade of light green or light brown, 

 variously specked, spotted, and blotched 

 with dark brown and neutral, the markings 

 predominating at the larger end. 



In some breeding places near the south- 

 west end of the province I could identify 

 none but the Arctic Terns, and so could feel 

 very well assured that I was examining 

 nothing but Arctic Tern's nests, but where 

 several of the above sjDecies of Terns breed 

 in community, I do not see how the eggs 

 and nests can be specifically determined — 

 their similarity is so great, and the birds 

 invariably leave the nests before one comes 

 near them. Prom eggs well identified, I 

 should think that possibly the ground 

 color of the eggs of the Arctic tends 

 rather to green, and that of the Wilson to 

 brown. More than that I could not affirm 

 as to any appreciable difference in the eggs 

 of these two species. 



A Trip to a Heronry. 



June 7, I visited, in conrpany with a 

 friend, a tract of land inhabited by Night 

 Herons, in the southern part of Rhode 

 Island. Even at that comparatively early 

 date, most of the nests contained young 

 birds, and those too, nearly full grown. 

 As our visit was limited to the short space 

 of an hour, we were content to obtain a 

 few eggs and birds, and not to explore the 

 whole place, which probably covered sev- 

 eral acres of land. The entrance to the 

 swamp was a narrow cow-path, on each 

 side of which the briars were so closely in- 

 terwoven that one was hardly able to pene- 

 trate. 



As we came towards the heronry, nu- 

 merous cries of "quack," "quack," were 

 heard, and the birds immediately left the 

 nests and hovered over the place. On 

 glancing at the trees within, we could see 

 numerous nests, with young birds stretch- 

 ing their long necks over the sides. The 

 trees mostly chosen were maples, and every 

 tree contained from six to twelve nests. 

 At the foot of the trees, egg shells, dead 

 fish, and here and there dead birds were 

 to be seen. The lower parts of the tree 

 and the ground below, were covered with 

 the incessant droppings, and the whole 

 place seemed to have been whitewashed. 



I first climbed one of the trees and soon 

 was down with several sets of four eggs. 

 We found this to be the usual number ; of 

 ten there were but three. A look at us two 

 creatures on coming clown from the trees 

 would have made the most sober person 

 laugh. I apjDeared to have been painted 

 white from head to foot, while my com- 

 panion was as bad. However, as we were 

 " rigged out" for the occasion, we soon 

 were used to the sight and smell. We ob- 

 tained one beautiful sj^ecimen of a male 

 Heron, and admired the neat plumage of 

 this otherwise disgusting bird. 



To give some idea as to the number of 

 the nests and eggs, I would say that I 



