NOTES AND QUERIES. 83 



four eggs in quite a respectable nest, as good as these birds usually make 

 on land. On neither of these two latter occasions was there any attempt 

 to cover the eggs.— A. Bankes (Beaulieu, Hants). 



A Habit of the Roseate Tern. — I think it is not generally known 

 amongst students of birds that it is alleged (and I have great faith in the 

 allegation) that the Roseate Tern (Sterna dougalli) robs the commoner and 

 allied species with which it associates, of its food, after the manner of the 

 Skuas. Some time ago I asked a friend, although not a professed ornitho- 

 logist, but who had lived near a colony of Roseate Terns for two or three 

 summers, and had constant opportunities of observing the birds, to give me 

 a few particulars of the habits of this species, and he told me as a positive 

 fact that he had seen the Roseate Tern rob the other Terns of their food, 

 "not once or twice, but hundreds of times," generally whilst on the wing ; 

 but he has also seen them take food from the young of the Arctic Tern, 

 with which their parents had just provided them. In fact my correspondent 

 says : — " They fly a great deal swifter than the Common or Arctic Tern. 

 They very seldom fish for themselves ; if they see a Common or Arctic 

 Tern with a fish in their bills, they pounce upon it just the same as a Hawk 

 will upon a small bird, and take the fish clean out of their bills ; they are 

 very quick. I have even seen them take a fish out of a young Tern's 

 bill that has been in the nest. I can tell a Roseate Tern amongst a 

 thousand Common Terns. When they are flying they seem to be longer 

 in the body and longer in the wings than any other Tern, and they have a 

 very hoarse cry, quite different to any other Tern's. I have never seen 

 three Roseate Tern's eggs in one nest, nor even heard of their laying three 

 eggs." I visited the locality last season, but the majority of the birds had 

 not commenced to lay their eggs, being unusually late in that respect. I 

 did not actually see any Roseate Tern take food from the commoner species, 

 although I watched several of the birds circling and wheeling about for 

 minutes together. This may be accounted for by the fact that they were 

 not busy with nesting operations, and that this robbery is practised much 

 more when the eggs are hatched, even if they do not then obtain all their 

 food in that manner. Whilst in the district I made all enquiries I could 

 respecting this alleged habit of the Roseates, and could get nothing but 

 corroboration, sometimes even without seeking it. One of the local names 

 for this bird is the " Rosette " Tern, probably only a corruption or a mis- 

 understanding of the word " Roseate," and sometimes it is called the 

 "Rosy" Tern; but another local name used more among the natives who 

 know the species is the " pirate " bird, from its habit of robbing the other 

 Sea-swallows. One man with whom I am acquainted, and who has lived 

 near this habitat of the Roseate Terns for eight years, told me he was 

 certain he had seen these birds snatch food from the other Terns very 



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