The Little Tern 



( Sterna minuta ) LlNN/EUS. 



MALE, FEMALE, NEST, EGGS, AND YOUNG. 



(JT^WO or three isolated colonies of this, the smallest of British Terns, breed on 

 -*~ the North Wales Coast. The eggs are laid in small hollows scratched 

 out of the bare shingle, usually just above high-water mark. In a few instances 

 their nests are decorated with fragments of shells, but these are uncommon. 



Two nests are shown in the foreground : one with three eggs ; the other 

 with one perfect and one broken egg and a newly-hatched downy chick. All are 

 difficult to recognise amongst the shingle, &c, of the sea beach, and afford most 

 interesting examples of protective resemblance. 



The specimens were collected on the North Wales Coast and presented by 

 Dr. W. H. Dobie. The large stones and boulders are papier-mache models of the 

 originals. The rest of the material is from the original habitat. 



