112 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
ing English nesting haunt is on the pebbly beaches of the south 
coast of Kent. Its presence here excites some speculation in 
your mind as to why it should have worked up north from its 
usual summer haunts. 
The Lesser and Common Tern are fishing all the time along 
in front of you, and you can notice the brownish tints of the 
feathers of the young birds of the year of each species. Buta 
scattered party of birds coming towards you over the water with 
a Tern-like flight arrests your attention at once, because their 
leader is black, and his followers are black and white. The one 
is a Black Tern (Hydrochelidon nigra) in mature plumage ; the 
followers—although the disposition of the white and black of 
their plumage and a seeming difference in their style of flight 
brings the name of Sooty Tern (Sterna fuliginosa) to your mind 
—are probably young Black Terns of the year. The Black Tern 
used to nest in the Fen country years ago. It is said not to have 
done so for the last fifty years. Where, then, do these birds 
come from? For you have seen them before at the same time 
of the year. 
You turn back across the marsh with a sense of satisfaction 
in the results of your day’s outing. As you pass through the 
hedgerows of the upland the wind has dropped, and the day 
seems to be merging into a warm summer evening. Yet the 
clear piping song of a Robin in acottage-garden is a certain sign 
that summer has gone. 
