LEAST TERN 



By T. GILBERT PEARSON 



'^e /Rational Busiomtion oi Butruton ^octettes; 



EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 97 



One of the daintiest and most confiding of our sea-birds is the Least Tern. 

 Except where they have been extensively shot or otherwise disturbed, they 

 often exhibit a lack of fear that is astonishing. 



On the North Carolina coast I have frequently seen them light on the 

 beach within 15 or 20 feet of where I was standing in the open. Their aggres- 

 sion, when one approaches their nests, is equaled only by their near relative, 

 the Arctic Tern. 



LEAST TERN FEEDING ITS MATE ON THE NEST 

 Photographed by E. H. Forbush on an island oS the Massachusetts Coast 



Forty years ago Least Terns were among the most numerous sea-birds 

 inhabiting the North American continent. Their colonies, situated on islands 

 or points of sandy peninsulas, could be found with great frequency as one 

 traveled along our eastern coast from Maine to Texas. They were also found 

 interiorly in some places, especially up the Mississippi River and, to a limited 

 extent, its tributaries. Here the birds bred on small shoals in the rivers. In 

 those days they ranged as far north as Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa. 



Their beauty of plumage, the ease with which they might be killed, and their 

 vast numbers all contributed to their popularity with the feather-trade, and 



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