368 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
the harbour where they are safer. The old birds then teach 
them how to fish, flying beside them, and diving and catching 
fish, which they take to the shore, followed by the young, to 
whom they give the fish when they alight. 
‘‘The Lesser Tern’s style of fishing is quite different from 
the Common Tern’s. It flies very much quicker, and keeps on 
chirping till it catches a fish, with which it flies up into the air. 
After swallowing the fish the Tern flies a good way very quickly 
before looking for any more. 
‘‘The Common Tern is generally a day or two later in laying, 
but the majority begin laying simultaneously. The eggs vary in 
colour and size. I have seen eggs nearly white and others 
almost all brown, and some no bigger than Thrushes’ eggs. 
‘‘ When hatching they are very fierce, and allow no birds to 
come near the ternery except those that lay with them. I have 
seen one get off its nest and chase a young Lark that could 
hardly fly, and kill it on the spot. They are also great enemies 
of the Partridges. In one season I have picked up as many as 
eight that had been mobbed and pecked to death. When attacked 
by Terns a Partridge crouches on the ground; the Terns collect 
from all around and make awful darts at it, diving straight 
down, and then hovering over it like hawks. The Partridge is 
often too frightened to fly away, and then at last one of the 
Terns gets in a fatal blow. They drive holes into the Partridge’s 
head as if done with a nail. They take their young away like 
the Lesser and teach them to fish, and when preparing to 
migrate they all collect in a bunch a mile or two away near the 
sea for a day or two before they finally go, in the last week of 
August or first week of September. 
‘‘The Redshanks remain here all the year round, as the 
marshes are full of creeks and mud-flats, from which they can 
get food during the hard weather. If the weather is open pairing 
begins about the first week in March, but the majority of birds 
do not begin to lay until the latter end of April, although I met 
with eggs on the first of the month. When walking through 
the nesting-ground some fly quite close, shrieking, while others 
—the males, I think—soar very high up, like a Meadow-Pipit, 
and sing a peculiar song. The birds make several nests before 
laying, but when one has chosen the place she lays four eggs on 
