LESSER TERN. 



81 



nishes another proof that the actions of birds are not the effect of 

 mere blind impulse^ but of volition, regulated by reason, depend- 

 ing on various incidental circumstances to which their parental 

 cares are ever awake* I lately visited those parts of the beach on 

 Cape May where this little bird breeds. The eggs, generally four 

 in number, were placed on the flat sands, safe beyond the reach of 

 the highest summer tide. They were of a yellowish brown color^ 

 blotched with rufous, and measured nearly an inch and three quar- 

 ters in length. During my whole stay, these birds flew in crowds 

 around me, and often within a few yards of my head, squeaking 

 like so many young pigs which their voice strikingly resembles. 

 A Humming-bird, that had accidentally strayed to the place, ap- 

 peared suddenly among this outrageous group, several of whom 

 darted angrily at him; but he shot like an arrow from them, di- 

 recting his flight straight towards the ocean. I have no doubt but 

 the distressing cries of the Terns had drawn this little creature to 

 the scene, having frequently witnessed his anxious curiosity on si- 

 milar occasions in the woods. 



The Lesser Tern feeds on beetles, crickets, spiders and other 

 insects which it picks up from the marshes, as well as on small 

 fish, on which it plunges at sea. Like the former, it also makes 

 extensive incursions inland along the river courses, and has fre- 

 quently been shot several hundred miles from the sea. It some- 

 times sits for hours together on the sands, as if resting after the 

 fatigues of flight to which it is exposed. 



The Lesser Tern is extremely tame and unsuspicious, often 

 passing you on its flight, and within a few yards, as it traces the 

 windings and indentations of the shore in search of its favorite 

 prawns and skippers. Indeed at such times it appears either alto- 

 gether heedless of man, or its eagerness for food overcomes its ap- 

 prehensions for its own safety. We read in ancient authors that 

 the fishermen used to float a cross of wood, in the middle of which 

 was fastened a small fish for a bait, with limed twigs stuck to the 



VOL. VII. X 



