LONG-WINGED SWIMMERS 45 



frequently in company with other long-winged swimmers, 

 such as the herring gull or California gull. The Caspian 

 terns frequently migrate at great heights and far from 

 land, a course which they may pursue when traveling to 

 their breeding grounds on the Atlantic or upper Lake 

 Michigan, and thus their presence is little suspected by 

 the casual obsen^er in the Middle States. 



Until the Audubon Societies patrolled many of the 

 islands lying off the American coast or on the large inland 

 lakes the eggs of the Caspian tern were used for commercial 

 purposes. Fishermen gathered them in great quantities, 

 and the birds, loath to leave their favorite islands, would 

 continue laying well into the summer months, until they 

 finally became discouraged and would move to another 

 locality. 



These birds present a beautiful sight as they circle over 

 their eggs at the approach of some intruder, uttering their 

 hoarse cries. Though web-footed and with an oily texture 

 to the plumage, the birds seem more fond of flying than 

 swimming. Their food consists of insects captured in the 

 air and small fish which they capture by diving into the 

 water while flying low over the surface. 



During the last eight years the birds have greatly 

 increased in numbers through rigid enforcement of the 

 plumage law forbidding the selling in America of feathers 

 of native birds. Several large colonies of Caspian terns 

 appear on the islands in the Gulf of Mexico. Other colonies 

 have taken possession of the islands on fresh water lakes in 

 Oregon. The eggs are usually deposited in small hollows 

 on the beach just above high-water mark. No attempt at 



