THE COMMON OR WILSON'S TERN. 



{Sterna hirundo. ) 



Whether flirting-, nesting, hunting, or flying at leisure, there is a refreshing joyousness 

 about the Tern that makes it a delight to watch. — Neltje Blanchan, "Birds that Hunt and 

 are Hunted." 



They who have never had the pleasure 

 of visiting a locality which is frequented 

 by the Terns have missed one of the 

 most beautiful and pleasing scenes in 

 nature. Truly that one whose fortune it 

 is to daily watch the graceful motions of 

 this swallow of the sea, as it flies over the 

 billowy water — at work or at play — will 

 say with Bret Harte, — 



Sauntering hither on listless wings, 



Careless vagabond of the sea, 

 Little thou heedest the surf that sings, 

 The bar that thunders, the shale that rings, — 



Give me to keep thy company. 



The joyous abandon shown by the 

 Tern at all times is delightfully refresh- 

 ing. Nothing is more attractive than its 

 motions as it alights. Approaching a 

 resting place, its long and tapering wings 

 are held for an instant fluttering and 

 vertically over its back as it daintily 

 comes to rest, either on the land or on 

 the water. Neltje Blanchan has well ex- 

 pressed one of its sprightly habits. "In 

 the very excess of good spirits one will 

 plunge beneath the water after a little 

 fish, then, mounting into the air again, it 

 will deliberately drop it from its bill for 

 another Tern to dash after, and the new 

 possessor will toss it to still another 

 member of the jolly flock, and so keep up 

 the game until the fish is finally swal- 

 lowed." The Terns do not often indulge 

 in this pastime, but when they do, they 

 seem a jolly crowd. Some have sug- 

 gested that this game of drop and catch 

 is cut (icd into' by the birds in order to 

 kill the fish. 



Wilson's Tern has a wide distribution. 

 It is found throughout the greater part 

 of the Northern Hemisphere and in 

 Africa. In our own country it chiefly 

 frequents thai region lying east of the 

 plains, though it is also ;it least a winter 

 resident on the coast of southern Cali- 



fornia. Its breeding range extends in- 

 termittently from the Arctic coast to 

 ' Florida and Texas. This beautiful bird 

 bears a number of popular - names. Be- 

 sides those already mentioned, it is called 

 Summer Gull, Mackerel Gull and Red- 

 shank. Though it is frequently called 

 Sea Swallow, its flight has not the sailing 

 and rapid character of the true swallows, 

 the wings being moved more slowly, 

 although their endurance and power of 

 flight are extraordinary. 



Many of the islands on the Atlantic 

 coast harbor large numbers of Wilson's 

 Terns. Gull Island, situated at the upper 

 end of Long Island Sound, is one of their 

 notable resorts. "Here they breed by 

 thousands, fairly filling the air when you 

 land and disturb them. Their nests are 

 always placed on the ground or rocks, 

 and are usually composed of a few pieces 

 of grass and seaweed. They place their 

 nests all over the island above high- 

 water line ; on the beach, on the sides of 

 the bluffs — all around and in the garden 

 cultivated by the lighthouse keeper." 

 Regarding the habits of the Terns on 

 Great Gull Island, Mr. Dutcher says : 

 "The Terns were very jealous of any 

 intruders, no matter who they were. The 

 angry birds would congregate in one 

 large flock directly above the object of 

 their wrath and attempt to annoy him by 

 every means in their power. They would 

 scream at him, circle about him, circle 

 around, then poise in the air, set their 

 wings, and come down like a shot, as if 

 to transfix him with their bills, then when 

 within a few feet would suddenly open 

 their wings and swerve off, only to re- 

 peat the performance again and again." 

 They have come to fear man, however, 

 and are inclined to keep out of the range 

 (A his gun, and it is only by shooting a 

 Tern for a decov thai thev can be brought 



