FAMILY XXIV. 
LONGIPENNESi Illigeu. 
GENUS l,^\.-~RHYNCnOrS, Liukalvs. 
246 . RlirN^CUOFS NIGEA, EINN^US and WILSON. 
BLACK SKIMMER, Oil SHEERWATEJl. 
''U.SON, PLATE I.X. FIG IV. EDINBURGH COLLEGE MUSEUM. 
tf iJ-'Jis truly sing'ular fowl is the only species of its 
hitherto discovered. Like many others, it is a 
of passage in the United States, and makes its first 
jpearanco on the shores of New Jersey early in May. 
5 besides there, as well as along the whole Atlantic 
hj during the summer, and retires early in September, 
f. 'jh'ourite haunts are low sand bars, raised above the 
t|) ' of the summer tides ; and also dry flat sands on 
J>eaeh in front of the ocean. 
breeds along the shores of Cape May, in New 
foy. Oil account of the general coldness of the 
On such places it 
?^rl 
"S there, the sheerwater does not begin to lay until 
hit ^ June, at which time these birds form themselves 
hhiall societies, fifteen or twenty pair frequently 
ij jj**ding within a few yards of each other. The nest 
hiat hollow formed in the sand, without any other 
The female lays three eggs, almost exactly 
of p of a clear white, marked with large round spots 
hi^j'ownish black, and intermixed with others of pale 
... ‘'■11 ink. These eggs measure one inch and three 
^ ^ _ 
"He of Offffs bas sometimes been collected from 
Onq by one inch and a quarter. Half a bushel 
*?od bar, within the compass of half an acre. These 
''hill , something of a fishy taste, but are eaten by 
y people on the coast. The female sits on them 
