58 BIRDS OF THE DISTRICT OF GEELONG 
was caught by something white on top of the water 
among short reeds. I walked over, and found a 
dead Tern lying across a nest with broken egg-shells 
upon it — a mother killed while defending her treasures. 
A few yards away was another nest and more shells, 
then more and more, quite forty of them, all with 
the beautiful mottled litter of broken eggs in or 
around them, save one which held dead young. The 
nests were built up from the bottom in water about 
two feet deep, and the upper part of each was formed 
of the dry stalks of slender reeds. Either water-rats 
or foxes, probably the latter, had wrought the tragedy, 
for the greater part of the eggs had been fresh. 
I have been told by Mr. Mulder that some years 
previously a fisherman, drawing in his net near the 
Bald Hill on the big Lake, had brought with it to 
shore dozens of these Terns' nests, all with eggs, 
and that the weight of sodden water-weed actually 
broke the net. 
The eggs are usually three, and are typical Terns' 
eggs, being greyish green in ground-colour and 
plentifully spotted and blotched with markings of 
various shades of grey and brown. People living 
by the Lake call the birds " Fishermen," because 
they catch small fish as the waters recede; and 
describe the period of their stay as lasting from 
October to February; but I have records of my 
own as early as September 7th and as late as March. 
