The Black Tern 



The nests are placed variously in the swamp, sometimes on a little 

 raft of floating vegetation which the bird has brought together, some- 

 times on a truncated cone of fresh-cut herbage and twisted grasses resting 

 upon the solid earth, but oftenest upon the ample expanse of some grebe's 

 nest, new or old. The little tyrants have no hesitation in appropriating 

 a grebe's nest of fresh construction, even though the rightful owner 

 has already deposited eggs. The spitfires have the advantage in being 

 able to strike from above, and it is to be feared they sometimes resort 

 to mob tactics in case of serious opposition. The pale olive-brown 

 eggs, heavily spotted and blotched with blackish brown, harmonize so 

 perfectly with their surroundings of decaying and mud-spattered vegeta- 

 tion as almost to elude the sight, even after being once discovered. 



As a special instance of nesting in the cattle country, one cannot 

 forbear to mention the frequency with which these birds are beguiled by 

 the attraction of floating cakes of cow-dung for use as nesting sites. 



These sturdy "cow- 

 flops," raised by 

 sudden floods from 

 their ancient 

 repose in the 



BABY PICTURES 



BLACK TERN CHICKS TAKEN ON DAY OF HATCHING 



