THE OOLOGIST 



177 



in sets of twos and threes, being laid 

 in mere depressions among bits of 

 shells and broken rocks in the sandy 

 beach. The eggs so nicely match the 

 surroundings that the camouflage is 

 very striking. Many of the Terns were 

 fishing off the lea, and it was interest- 

 ing to see them come down against 

 the water like a gun shot, sending up 

 the spray as they struck the water 

 with an alacrity, and silently they 

 arose again with beating wings. On 

 seeing a fish they fold their wings and 

 come down in a straight line head 

 foremost and grasp the fish, usually a 

 small one, holding it between the 

 mandibles. 



Wilson's Plovers were abundant on 

 the beaches, and a few oyster catchers 

 were noted. A set of four eggs of the 

 Willet were found in the marsh grass 

 near the beach. The ground is green- 

 ish or grayish buff, well marked with 

 shades of brown with subdued mark- 

 ings of lavender, chiefly towards the 

 end. Fresh eggs of the Willet are 

 usually found from May 17th to 25th. 

 The Willet has managed to hold its 

 own but its numbers have decreased 

 greatly. A single brood is reared in 

 a season. The food of the Willet con- 

 sists mainly of marine insects, rootlets 

 and seeds cast up by the tides. The 

 nest is usually a mere hollow, scantily 

 lined with a few dry grasses. The 

 Willet is a favorite with the sports- 

 man and is known as "Pilly Willet" 

 from its cry. The Oyster Catcher is 

 rare on the island . It is nearly ex- 

 tinct on our coastal islands. 



On a later visit to the island in the 

 early nineteen hundred, in company 

 with H. C. Davis, Cobb's Island was 

 found greatly changed from the con- 

 ditions prevailing during my first 

 visit. There was a noticeable de- 

 crease in the bird life, and the island 

 itself had lessened in area. We stopped 

 at the small "club" house and secured 



some interesting photographs of the 

 Terns. I found two newly hatched 

 young of the Sterna hirundo in a shel- 

 ly depression in the shelly gravel. The 

 birds were flattened out against the 

 sand, their necks extended and so 

 nearly matched their surroundings 

 that it was scarcely possible to detect 

 them. A young Oyster Catcher was 

 also noted on the beach at the north- 

 ern end and skidaddled away from us 

 towards the surf. He was easily 

 easily caught, however, but released. 



Ever a delight to the lover of nature 

 our sea birds are an asset that cannot 

 be released when they are gone. 

 Cobb's island has suffered severely 

 from fashion, sway; thousands, ten 

 thousands, having been sent to New 

 York to satisfy the whims of Lady 

 Vanity. Verily the time has come 

 when we should exert our best energies 

 to accord perfect protection to all bird 

 life of our Coastal Islands. 



BOOKS RECEIVED 



LIFE HISTORY 



Of 



NORTH AMERICAN DIVING BIRDS 



UNITED STATES NATIONAL 



MUSEUM BULLETIN 107 



By 



Arthur Cleveland Bent 

 Government Printing Office, 1909 



This splendid publication is in a 

 measure a continuance of the work on 

 North American birds, began by the 

 late Capt. Bendire, though it is entirely 

 a different arrangement and size me- 

 chanically. It covers the Grebes, 

 Loons, Puffins, Auklets, Gillemots, 

 Murre's, and the Dovkie, covering the 

 A. O. U. list from pages one to thirty- 

 four inclusive. 



The arrangement delineates in order 

 of the following: Habits, nesting, 

 eggs, young, plumage, food, behavior, 

 distribution, breeding, range, winter 



