Reports of Field Agents 



347 



south shore of Martha's Vineyard is the safest and best breeding-place for the 

 Least Tern in New England. If by reason of persecution by man or natura 

 enemies they once leave that shore, extirpation from New England will in- 

 evitably follow unless strict protection can be given them wherever they settle. 

 On Martha's Vineyard there are no raccoons, skunks, or foxes, few minks, 

 and very few other inimical mammals. The greatest natural enemy there, 

 as well as on the mainland, is the domestic cat run wild. These animals roam 

 the Vineyard in considerable numbers. If the birds are to exist there, wardens 

 will be required to destroy wandering cats and rats on that part of the island. 

 Elsewhere though the birds nest from time to time, they will be driven away 



ROSEATE TERN OK NEST. NOTE THE COMPARATIVELY SHORT WINGS AND 



THE LONG WHITE TAIL 



Photographed by Edward Howe Forbush 



by their natural enemies and molestation by summer people on the beaches. 

 There is no safety for them anywhere in Massachusetts unless strictly protected 

 during the breeding-season by resident wardens. Even if so guarded, all 

 beaches on which these Terns are likely to breed are by law open to the public. 

 As the beaches become more and more frequented, there will always be danger 

 that the eggs and young, the colors of which resemble that of the sand on which 

 they lie, will be trodden under foot. 



Many Tern colonies now lie near popular beaches and are visited by many 

 summer sojourners and tourists. The birds are constantly disturbed and 

 driven from their nests. Such disturbance increasing will in time drive them 

 from any locality. The old notion that Terns leave their eggs to be hatched 

 by the heat of the sun is an error. The eggs must be constantly incubated and 

 the newly hatched young must be brooded to preserve their lives. If exposed 



