SANDWICH TERN. 
79 
when its nature seems changed to courage in defence of its 
young, and want of'common precaution for its own safety. 
It is said, that when a person approaches the bird on the 
nest, it frequently beats the intruder about the head with 
its wings in the hope of intimidating him. 
The call-note of the Sandwich Tern is very peculiar, 
and sounds like kirk, or cree ! 
The food of the present species consists in fish, from 
the smallest fry to the herring of five or six inches in length, 
which it catches on the wing; during its search the 
bird holds its body in a horizontal direction, and its head 
and beak at a perfect angle, with the point of its beak 
downwards. When this Tern perceives a fish, it hovers 
for a short time over the spot to await the proper moment 
for the stroke, and then it darts on its prey, but never dives 
under water for it; where the waves run high, it takes 
many a fish by skimming between the waves, and especially 
makes free with any exhausted one that is carried to the 
top by the force of the current. 
That Sandwich Terns breed always in large parties 
together is a well known fact, as well as that the numbers 
amount not to hundreds but to thousands of pairs, and 
the nests are placed so very close together that it is a 
difficult matter not to destroy the eggs at every advancing 
step. On the approach of a person to the spot, the whole 
party get on the wing and fly in the greatest confusion 
in all directions over the place, while the birds uttering 
their cries of alarm at the same time perfectly bewilder 
one’s senses. The chosen ground is either short grassy 
meadow land, or sandy ground in the most open spots 
possible, without any other vegetation. 
The eggs are generally two in number, although they 
amount to three in some instances ; they are laid on the 
