﻿BIRDS 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  I45 
  

  

  boring 
  military 
  station. 
  This 
  tern 
  formerly 
  bred 
  on 
  the 
  Canadian 
  shore 
  of 
  

   Lake 
  Erie, 
  not 
  far 
  from 
  Buffalo, 
  and 
  at 
  Presque 
  Isle, 
  Erie, 
  Pa., 
  but 
  now 
  is 
  

   not 
  known 
  to 
  nest 
  on 
  the 
  Great 
  Lakes 
  nearer 
  than 
  the 
  Chicken 
  islands, 
  Put- 
  

   in 
  -Bav, 
  western 
  Lake 
  Erie. 
  In 
  the 
  interior 
  of 
  this 
  State 
  this 
  bird 
  is 
  a 
  fairly 
  

   common 
  transient 
  visitant, 
  especially 
  on 
  the 
  Great 
  Lakes, 
  but 
  is 
  not 
  known 
  

   to 
  breed 
  within 
  our 
  limits 
  except 
  on 
  the 
  seacoast, 
  where 
  it 
  was 
  an 
  abundant 
  

   summer 
  resident 
  in 
  Giraud's 
  day. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  bird 
  of 
  holarctic 
  range, 
  in 
  

   America 
  breeding 
  from 
  the 
  Gulf 
  coast 
  to 
  Greenland. 
  

  

  Migration. 
  The 
  Common 
  tern 
  according 
  to 
  Giraud 
  arrives 
  from 
  the 
  

   South 
  by 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  April 
  and 
  departs 
  late 
  in 
  the 
  fall; 
  Mr 
  Butcher's 
  

   dates 
  range 
  from 
  May 
  9 
  to 
  October 
  15. 
  In 
  western 
  New 
  York 
  it 
  is 
  most 
  

   often 
  seen 
  in 
  early 
  June, 
  and 
  from 
  August 
  8th 
  to 
  September 
  25th, 
  although 
  

   I 
  have 
  seen 
  it 
  as 
  early 
  as 
  May 
  5th 
  on 
  Canandaigua 
  lake 
  and 
  as 
  late 
  as 
  October 
  

   9th. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  reported 
  from 
  Lake 
  Erie 
  on 
  the 
  15th 
  of 
  April, 
  but 
  I 
  am 
  

   inclined 
  to 
  think 
  that 
  is 
  exceptionally 
  early 
  for 
  this 
  species 
  in 
  the 
  interior. 
  

   Mr 
  Todd's 
  earliest 
  record 
  for 
  Erie, 
  Pa., 
  is 
  April 
  26. 
  

  

  Habits. 
  The 
  tern, 
  or 
  Sea 
  swallow, 
  is 
  often 
  seen 
  standing 
  on 
  spiles, 
  

   rocks, 
  or 
  floating 
  debris, 
  but 
  less 
  often 
  swimming 
  on 
  the 
  water 
  than 
  the 
  

   gulls. 
  Like 
  gulls 
  it 
  spends 
  a 
  large 
  portion 
  of 
  its 
  time 
  flying 
  back 
  and 
  

   forth 
  over 
  the 
  water 
  looking 
  for 
  the 
  small 
  fish 
  and 
  the 
  aquatic 
  insects 
  which 
  

   are 
  its 
  principal 
  food. 
  When 
  flying, 
  terns 
  carry 
  the 
  bill 
  inclined 
  downward, 
  

   instead 
  of 
  pointing 
  forward 
  in 
  the 
  axis 
  of 
  the 
  body, 
  as 
  is 
  the 
  habit 
  of 
  gulls. 
  

   They 
  nest 
  in 
  large 
  colonies 
  and 
  near 
  such 
  resorts 
  the 
  air 
  is 
  often 
  filled 
  with 
  

   their 
  graceful 
  forms. 
  When 
  the 
  colony 
  is 
  invaded 
  the 
  birds 
  raise 
  a 
  great 
  

   uproar 
  and 
  dart 
  about 
  the 
  intruder. 
  Their 
  scream 
  is 
  a 
  harsh 
  tearr, 
  tearr. 
  

  

  Nesting. 
  Their 
  eggs 
  are 
  laid 
  in 
  a 
  mere 
  depression 
  in 
  the 
  sand 
  or 
  rubbish 
  

   near 
  the 
  shore, 
  or 
  on 
  a 
  nest 
  of 
  grass 
  or 
  seaweed, 
  sometimes 
  among 
  the 
  

   growing 
  grass. 
  They 
  are 
  from 
  two 
  to 
  four 
  in 
  number, 
  usually 
  three, 
  of 
  a 
  

   buff 
  or 
  pale 
  brown 
  color 
  shaded 
  with 
  olive, 
  thickly 
  spotted 
  with 
  chocolate 
  

   or 
  blackish 
  and 
  obscure 
  lilac. 
  Dimensions 
  average 
  1.6 
  by 
  1.22 
  inches. 
  The 
  

   nestlings 
  are 
  grayish 
  buff 
  mottled 
  with 
  dusky. 
  The 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  Forster, 
  

   Common, 
  Arctic 
  and 
  Roseate 
  terns 
  are 
  practically 
  indistinguishable. 
  

  

  