274 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



there by a variety of names, such as " killing peter," " kill-em 

 polly," and " sand peter." 



There are a few small breeding colonies of least terns in the reser- 

 vations on the coast of Louisiana. In the lower Mississippi Valley 

 there are a few colonies breeding on low, sandy islands in the Missis- 

 sippi and Missouri Rivers, where their nesting is much delayed by 

 high water in the spring. Mr. Gideon Mabbett, who has studied 

 the breeding habits of this species on the sand bars of the Mississippi 

 River, near Rodney, Mississippi, sent to Major Bendire the follow- 

 ing notes : 



On their first appearance they are generally resting on an old log or piece 

 of drift-wood floating in the back water of the Mississippi Eiver, and remain 

 very quiet for sometimes for a day or two, as though they were tired from a 

 long flight. In a few days they are here in great numbers, flying around and 

 chasing each other as though making love to each other. As the waters recede- 

 they take themselves more to the river proper; when the high places are out 

 of water they then prepare the nest, which is nothing more than a small de- 

 pression scooped in the sand about the size of a half -closed hand. 



Mr. F. W, Kelsey (1902) says of their nesting habits near San 

 Diego, California: 



In this section we seldom find a set of this species containing more than 

 two eggs. The nesting places vary considerably, sometimes being merely a 

 little wallow, 3 or 4 inches across, in the fine gray or black sand ; at other 

 times the eggs are deposited among coarse gravel and broken shells, while at 

 others the nest is in the plain sand, but is more or less elaborately decorated 

 with bits of rock, shell, or wood. In all cases, however, that have come to 

 my notice, the nests have been on almost level ground, and entirely devoid of 

 shelter. 



Mr. A. I. McCormick (1899) describes their breeding grounds in 

 Los Angeles County as follows : 



The beaches of this county, from Santa Monica southward," afford excellent 

 breeding grounds for numberless birds of this species. The coast consists 

 mainly of low sandy beaches, extending back 100 to 200 feet from the water's- 

 edge. Back of the beach proper come low sand hills, interspersed with small 

 valleys, and farthest from the ocean are the higher lands, covered with a thick 

 growth of low sage and other shrubs, about 200 feet from the water's edge. 

 Water on the one side and sage brush on the other mark the boundaries of the 

 nesting grounds of least terns, most of which last year (1897) arrived from the 

 south about May 10. For 10 days they remained, flying high over the sea, 

 seldom if ever coming within gunshot range. 



My second and last trip to the beach was made on June 5, when I was fortu- 

 nate enough to take 15 sets of least tern's eggs. Six of them consisted oi 

 three eggs each. This is exceptional in the county. I have consulted several 

 collectors who have had considerable experience with least terns in this locality, 

 and with one or two exceptions two eggs has been the invariable complement 

 found. 



Judging from my own experience I should say that the least tern 

 normally raises only one brood in a season, at least in the northern 



