THE BLACK TERN. 



{Hydrochelidon uigra surinamensis.) 



The range of the Black Tern is ex- 

 tensive, including both temperate and 

 tropical America from Alaska and the 

 Fur Countries, southward to Brazil and 

 Chile. Its breeding range extends from 

 Kansas and Illinois northward, but not 

 east of the Alleghany Mountains. The 

 flight of this beautiful bird is graceful 

 and swift and apparently it flies with- 

 out effort. It flies with the freedom of a 

 swallow, and some of its sister species 

 which frequent the seacoast are called sea 

 swallows. The Black Tern, however, is 

 a bird of the interior where it frequents 

 the marshes and, in its search for food, 

 may fly long distances over the prairies, 

 often many miles from its home marsh. 

 In fact, it has been called the Prairie 

 Tern and the Prairie Swallow. 



In favorable localities, the Black Terns 

 are abundant unless they have been 

 driven away by the persistent abuse of 

 the collector of eggs, the plume hunt- 

 ers, and the man with a gun who likes 

 to shoot at a swiftly moving object. In 

 many localities, where they were once 

 common, they are now rarely seen or 

 have disappeared altogether. 



It is a deplorable fact that, in many 

 localities, this, our most interesting Tern 

 is being slowly but surely either extermi- 

 nated or driven away, and in time, un- 

 less indiscriminate slaughter is checked, it 

 will go the way of the passenger pigeon. 

 Its larger related species which inhabit 

 the larger bodies of water, nesting on iso- 

 lated or unfrequented shores, especially 

 those of the seacoast islands, are to a 

 great extent protected from hunters and 

 ^^^ collectors. The Black Tern, on the 

 other hand, ranglnsr inland, nests on the 

 borders of the smaller lakes and sloughs. 

 Here It not only beautifies the landscape 

 with its elegant flight, but also gives the 

 students of bird-life, who are unable to 

 visit the seacoast, an opportunity of ob- 

 serving the nesting, feeding and other 

 habits of this family of birds. Wherever 

 the shores of our smaller lakes are at all 

 isolated, or where a wet meadow gradu- 



ally slopes into the water, an observer is 

 quite likely to find the Black Terns nest- 

 ing in colonies, the nests usually being 

 placed about seventy-five to one hundred 

 feet apart. But little or no attempt is 

 made to construct a nest, the eggs being 

 laid on a small heap of dead grass or 

 reeds, which are not infrequently float- 

 ing on the water. 



In Northern Illinois and Indiana, in 

 the vicinity of Lake Michigan, on ac- 

 count of persecution, the few surviving 

 colonies of Black Tern are now nesting 

 In the most inaccessible locations, select- 

 ing the tops of old musk-rat houses and 

 masses of broken reeds which rest upon 

 the water. Ten years ago I counted over 

 one hundred nests on Lake Calumet, near 

 Chicago, and last year I saw but two 

 birds and no nests in the same locality. 



The action of the Black Terns on the 

 approach of an intruder in the vicinity 

 of their nesting sites, is very interesting. 

 While a quarter of a mile or so away 

 from the nests one will notice an un- 

 easy movement among the birds. On a 

 nearer approach an occasional individual, 

 bolder than the others, will start toward 

 the intruder, following a straight line 

 and with great speed ; It will finally circle 

 and return to the colony. When still 

 nearer the nests, several of the birds will 

 flv around and make short dashes at the 

 obiect of their resentment. Standing 

 quietly for a time, the observer will see 

 some of the birds hovering over a spot 

 in the marsh, this action often marking 

 the location of the nests. ApDroaching 

 still closer to the homes of the birds, the 

 entire colony is soon in the air. crvinof 

 and scolding the one who would invade 

 their domain, and dashing about his head 

 In a most threatening manner. 



The Black Terns show great affection 

 for their young and are ready to defend 

 them even In the face of death. I have 

 seen several instances where the parents 

 have lost their lives while defending their 

 young from the attacks of minks, musk- 

 rats and other animals. In the collection of 



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