TWO DAYS WITH THE TERNS 111 
all Common Terns, but as I am unfamiliar with the 
very similar Arctic Tern, it is possible that this 
species may have been present. 
A Tern colony is in some respects a unit. The 
alarm of one bird is shared by all, and before the 
boat’s keel grated on 
the sandy beach of the 
largest Weepecket, the 
snowy - breasted birds, 
which in a group were 
resting there, had taken 
flight, and with their “ 
singular call told all the 
other Terns on the is- 
land of my invasion. 
At once the birds gath- 
ered and, hanging in a 
flock overhead, pro- 
tested most vigorously 
against my intrusion with their purring, vibrant 
te-a-r-r-r. This cry never ceases so long as one 
remains near their home; it rings in the ears for 
days afterward, and one need only to recall it to 
form a clear mental picture of a sky full of hov- 
ering Terns. Occasionally this monotone was punc- 
tuated by a loud, reedy cack as a Roseate Tern 
dashed by, or as some half-distracted bird, whose 
nest was doubtless near, screaming, dived close to 
my head with a sudden, startling swish. It seemed 
almost as though the bird would pierce me with its 
sharply pointed bill; and if it could have managed 
to go through the rim of my hat without damage to 
either of us, [should have been very glad to have 
53. Tern hovering above nest. 
