TWO DAYS WITH THE TERNS 
| =p = |ERNS are useless for food, and can 
“| not therefore be classed as “ game 
birds.” So far as we know they 
are of no special economic value. 
Consequently, when one protests 
against their practical annihila- 
tion for millinery purposes, he is 
not infrequently answered: “ Well, what good are 
they ?” The question exposes so absolute a failure 
to appreciate the bird’s exquisite beauty and unex- 
celled grace—such a discouraging materialism—that 
one realizes the hopelessness of replying. 
I confess I find it impossible to describe satisfac- 
torily just what the presence of Terns along our 
coast means to me. It is not alone their perfection 
of color, form, and movement which appeals to one, 
but also the sense of companionship they bring; and 
doubtless this feeling is emphasized by the impres- 
_sive loneliness of the sea, which makes anything 
alive doubly welcome. And so the coming of a 
single one of these beautiful creatures changes the 
character of the bay or shore. With unfailing 
pleasure one watches its marvelously easy flight, its 
startling darts for its food of small fish, and when 
it disappears the scene loses a grateful element of 
life. 
106 
