The Bird -Life of Cobb's Island 



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graceful in flight, feeding most actively after dark when the influences of 

 the night lend a weirdness to their calls, these birds are unusually interesting 

 and attractive. 



They breed on the beach in almost continuous colonies from a point 

 about a mile and a half north of the life-saving station nearly to the 

 north end of the island. Four eggs are laid in a depression in the sand 

 made by the bird by squatting close and turning around, boring, as it were, 

 a nest cavity. Like most conspicuous ground -nesting birds the Skimmers 

 leave their nest at the first indication of danger and one's first knowledge 

 of their presence is gained from a flock which, rising far ahead of one> 

 comes charging down the beach with more or less regularity of formation' 

 trumpeting loudly. Doubtless this habit accounts for the belief of various 

 ornithologists, as well as of the baymen, that the Skimmer never visits its 

 nest during the day. 



It was not long after I had converted my umbrella blind (see June 

 Bird-Lore) into a grass-covered sand dune that the birds began to return 

 and, alighting with waddling steps, walk toward their nests and settle them- 

 selves on their eggs with a chuckling note apparently indicative of satisfac- 

 tion. At times the much larger male bird would stand beside his mate 

 while she attended to the duties of incubation. 



When a young bird was hatched the parent at once took the egg-shell 

 whence it had emerged 

 and carried it far up 

 the beach ; an interest- 

 ing habit evidently of 

 more importance to a 

 tree -nesting bird which 

 would avoid advertising 

 the young bird above 

 by the egg-shell below, 

 than to a ground-nest- 

 ing species. Possibly 

 it may indicate a for- 

 mer arboreal habit on 

 the part of the Skim- 

 mer (see June BiRD- 

 Lore). 



The young are born 

 covered with a sandy- 

 colored down which is dry at the end of two hours, when they are suffici- 

 ently strong to crawl from the nest to the shelter of a neighboring weed, 

 which, in the absence of the parent, they seem to seek instinctively. At 

 this time if the sun be shining the prolonged absence of the parent will 



SKlMiVlER ON NEST 



