ARCTIC TERN. 367 



moment this Tern had not been familiar to me, and as I admired its easy 

 and graceful motions, I felt agitated with a desire to possess it. Our 

 guns were accordingly charged with mustard-seed shot, and one after 

 another you might have seen the gentle birds come whirling down upon 

 the waters. But previous to this I had marked their mode of flight, their 

 manner of procuring their prey, and their notes, that I might be able to 

 finish the picture from life. Alas, poor things ! how well do I remem- 

 ber the pain it gave me, to be thus obliged to pass and execute sentence 

 upon them. At that very moment I thought of those long-past times, 

 when individuals of my own species were similarly treated ; but I excused 

 myself with the plea of necessity, as I recharged my double gun. As 

 soon as a sufficient number of males and females lay dead at our feet, we 

 retired from the water's edge, to watch the motions of the survivors, 

 among whom confusion and dismay prevailed, as they dashed close over 

 our heads, and vociferated their maledictions. We did not, however, de- 

 part until we had tried a curious experiment for the third time. A female 

 had been shot, and lay dead on the water for a considerable wliile. Her 

 mate, whom 1 was unwilling to destroy, alighted upon her, and attempt- 

 ed to caress her, as if she had been alive. The same circumstance took 

 place three different times, on our throwing the dead bird on the water. 

 Something of the same nature I have related in my article on the Wild 

 Turkey. All this happened in the month of June 1833, when none of 

 the Arctic Terns had yet produced eggs, although we found them nearly 

 ready to lay, as were the Piping Plovers. 



Our schooner now sailed onward, and carried us to the dreary shores 

 of Labrador. There, after some search, we met with a great flock of 

 Arctic Terns breeding on a small island slightly elevated above the sea. 

 Myriads of these birds were there sitting on their eggs. The individuals 

 were older than those which we had seen on the Magdeleine Islands ; for 

 the more advanced in life the individuals of any species are, the more 

 anxious are they to reproduce, the sooner do they proceed to their summer 

 residence, and the more extensive is the range of their migration north- 

 ward. On the other hand, the younger the bird is, the farther south it 

 removes during winter, both because it thus enjoys a milder climate, and 

 requires less exertion in procuring its food ; whereas the older individuals 

 not only have a stronger constitution, but are more expert in discovering 

 and securing their prey, so that it is not necessary for them to extend 

 their journey so far. 



