TWO DAYS WITH THE TERNS 193 
countless multitude of hovering, darting Terns, 
whose voices united in one continuous, grating 
te-a-r-r-r made the air tremble. There was an occa- 
66. Young Terns; first stage, about four days old. 
a ; ) 
sional vibrant cack from a Roseate, but not more 
than a dozen birds of this species were heard. Asked 
to estimate the number of birds present I should 
have said ten thousand, though I should not have 
been surprised to learn that there were twenty thou- 
sand. However, Mr. George H. Mackay, of Nan- 
tucket, who may be regarded as a Tern specialist, 
placed the number of Terns on Penikese, in 1896, at 
“six or seven thousand,” and with the assistance of 
Mr. R. H. Howe, Jr., counted 1,416 nests containing 
2,055 eges (Auk, xiv, 1897, p. 283). 
A small flock of sheep shared this part of the 
island with the Terns, and their presence accounted 
for the short grass which made the upland resemble 
a closely cut lawn, and permitted one readily to see 
