X0§ THE ARCTIC TERN. 



I felt agitated with a desire to possess it. Our guns were accordingly 

 charged with mustard-seed shot, and one after another you might have 

 seen the gentle birds come whirling down upon the waters. But previous 

 to this I had marked their mode of flight, their manner of procuring 

 their prey, and their notes, that I might be able to finish the picture from 

 life. Alas, poor things! how well do I remember the pain it gave me, to be 

 thus obliged to pass and execute sentence upon them. At that very moment 

 I thought of those long-past times, when individuals of my own species 

 were similarly treated; but I excused myself with the plea of necessity, as 

 I recharged my double gun. As soon as a sufficient number of males and 

 females lay dead at our feet, we retired from the water's edge, to watch the 

 motions of the survivors, among whom confusion and dismay prevailed, as 

 they dashed close over our heads, and vociferated their maledictions. We 

 did not, however, depart until we had tried a curious experiment for the 

 third time. A female had been shot, and lay dead on the water for a con- 

 siderable while. Her mate, whom I was unwilling to destroy, alighted upon 

 her, and attempted to caress her, as if she had been alive. The same cir- 

 cumstance took place three different times, on our throwing the dead bird on 

 the water. Something of the same nature I have related in my article on 

 the Wild Turkey. All this happened in the month of June 1833, when 

 none of the Arctic Terns had yet produced eggs, although we found them 

 nearly ready to lay, as were the Piping Plovers. 



Our schooner now sailed onward, and carried us to the dreary shores of 

 Labrador. There, after some search, we met with a great flock of Arctic 

 Terns breeding on a small island slightly elevated above the sea. Myriads 

 of these birds were there sitting on their eggs. The individuals were older 

 than those which we had seen on the Magdalene Islands; for the more 

 advanced in life the individuals of any species are, the more anxious are 

 they to reproduce, the sooner do they proceed to their summer residence, 

 and the more extensive is the range of their migration northward. On the 

 other hand, the younger the bird is, the farther south it removes during 

 winter, both because it thus enjoys a milder climate, and requires less exer- 

 tion in procuring its food; whereas the older individuals not only have a 

 stronger constitution, but are more expert in discovering and securing their 

 prey, so that it is not necessary for them to extend their journey so far. 



The Arctic Tern is found with us on the eastern coasts of the United 

 States only, where it appears, from the shores of New Jersey northwards, 

 in autumn, and whence it departs in early spring. No sooner have the 

 winter tempests subsided, than it is observed gliding along the coast, together 

 with many other birds. In the beginning of March, you see it following 

 the sinuosities of the shores, some passing directly from the Sable Islands 



