A Visit to the Lake Erie Terns 



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too young or too weak to fight; one is hiding, the other running away. 

 Both of these schemes were practiced very skilfully hy the little Terns. 

 When we first landed we saw many of the half-grown birds making of?, and 

 in a few minutes the island seemed almost deserted. Many of the larger 

 ones had taken to the water; but when we looked closely under stones and 

 amongst the rubbish we found, to our surprise, that the place was still 

 swarming with birds. Every plant had a chick at its root, and under 

 logs and overhanging rocks there were sometimes a dozen. The hiding 

 places of the chicks are generally close to the nests. These are often 



NEST AND EGGS OF COMMON TERN 



on windrows of driftwood or rubbish, with whose colors their brownish 

 speckled down blends perfectly. 



The older birds run away from the nests and hide among the stones, 

 which match their developing feathers better than the debris. It may be 

 observed here that while the newly hatched birds match the nests, and 

 the half-grown ones the stones, as they grow older and gain power of 

 flight, the protective coloring is lost entirely, and the adult is a creature 

 of beautiful and striking contrasts. Of the 'squabs,' many play the 

 trick of the Ostrich, sticking its head into sand. If they can find a 

 cover for their heads, they are content to have the rest of the body in 

 full view. The one photographed was so confident of his safety that it 

 was only with much vigorous prodding that he could be dragged out. 

 Many ' freeze in their tracks ' without trying to conceal themselves at 



