TERNS 



229 



fish, fly up to their young with every sand-eel they catch. I 

 have seen them fly backwards and forwards in this way for 

 hours together, apparently bringing the whole of their food 

 from the sea, nothwithstanding the distance ; their light body 

 and long swallow-like wings make this long flight to and fro 

 less fatiguing to the tern than it would be to almost any other 

 bird. 



TERNS ON SALMON STAKES 



Great numbers of terns ^ breed every year on the sandhills. 

 Their eggs, three in number, are laid in a small hole scraped 

 amongst the shingle, or on the bare sand. Generally, however, 

 they choose a place abounding in small stones ; and their eggs 

 being very nearly of the same colour as the pebbles, it is very 

 difficult to distinguish them. The nests being frequently at so 

 considerable a distance from the water, it has often been a 

 matter of surprise to me how the young birds can live till they 



' Roseate Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, and Lesser Tern (Moray).— C. St. J, 



