85 



BLACK SKIMMER, OR SHEERWATER. 

 RHYNCHOPS NIGRA. 

 [Plate LX.— Fig. 4.] 



Arct. Zool. Xo, 4i5. — Catesby, I, 90. — Le Bee en Ciseimx, Buff. VIII, 454, Inh. 36. — Peale's Mii- 



seum, JS^o. 3530. 



THIS truly singular fowl is the only species of its tribe hither- 

 to discovered. Like many others, it is a bird of passage in the 

 United States; and makes its first appearance on the shores of 

 New Jersey early in May. It resides there, as well as along the 

 whole Atlantic coast, during the summer; and retires early in Sep- 

 tember. Its favorite haunts are low sand bars, raised above the 

 reach of the summer tides; and also dry flat sands on the beach 

 in front of the ocean. On such places it usually breeds along the 

 shores of Cape May, in New Jersey. On account of the general 

 coldness of the spring there, the Sheerwater does not begin to lay 

 until early in June, at which time these birds form themselves into 

 small societies, fifteen or twenty pair frequently breeding within a 

 few yards of each other. The nest is a mere hollow formed in the 

 sand, without any other materials. The female lays three eggs, 

 almost exactly oval, of a clear white, marked with large round 

 spots of brownish black, and intermixed with others of pale Indian 

 ink. These eggs measure one inch and three quarters, by one inch 

 and a quarter. Half a bushel and more of eggs has sometimes 

 been collected from one sand bar, within the compass of half an 

 acre. These eggs have something of a fishy taste; but are eaten 

 by many people on the coast. The female sits on them only du- 

 ring the night, or in wet and stormy weather. The young remain 

 for several weeks before they are able to fly; are fed with great 



VOL. VII. Y 



