14 THE BIRDS 
adequate law was passed prohibiting the killing of all 
gulls and terns for millinery purposes. As it is, we still 
have several large breeding colonies scattered along our 
coast, and they seem to be on the increase slowly. They 
arrive with us about April 25th, and remain after the 
breeding season until the latter part of October, when 
large numbers of this species, together with other terns 
and gulls, frequent our lower rivers, Hampton Roads, 
and Chesapeake Bay. There is no doubt but that they 
do a great deal of good gathering in the refuse thrown 
over from ships, as well as other sea-food, and we should 
miss them from our waters very much when traveling to 
and fro on the steamers. Three to four eggs constitute 
a set, seldom five. The color varies from a dark buffy to 
grayish ground, spotted, blotched, and specked with dark 
brown, and fainter markings of lilac. Size of eggs, 
1.80x1.30. The eggs are generally placed in a slight 
hollow on the drift cast up by the high spring tides, and 
fresh eggs can be found from May 20th until July 7th. 
Only one brood a season. 
[74]. Sterna antillarum (Lesson). Least Tern. 
[Little Striker. Sea Swallow]. 
Ranex—Tropical and temperate America. Breeds on 
coast of southern California and on Gulf Coast from Texas 
eastward; also northward to Missouri (formerly to Iowa), 
and northwestern Nebraska; has occurred in Wisconsin 
and South Dakota; breeds also from the coasts of Massa- 
chusetts, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida south to 
the Bahamas, West Indies, British Honduras, and 
