Chatham, Mass. [Chatham, Massachusetts]
1876. Habits notes etc of Sterna frenata
Wensday [Wednesday]
May 17 [May 17, 1876] Clear with cold E. [east] wind. Rowed down to
Harding's after breakfast and took the sail
boat again getting off in her at about 11 A.M.
Sailed directly down to the point of
Monomoy is [Monomoy island] where we chased the least 
terns about for some time, killing four.
Landing on the beach at about 2 P.M. Mr.
Brown set out some decoys and lay in
a stand while I tramped about in search 
of birds. Found sandling [sanderling] in large flocks
each flock usually accompanied by five
or six Strepsilas interpres. All these birds
were very shy but I managed to knock
over a few of the former and one of the
latter while Mr. Brown got me three very
fine turnstones and five or six more
sandling [sanderling]. None of the sandling [sanderling] were
however in full plumage and I had
almost given up getting a good one, when
Mr. Emerson fired a long shot into a
flock killing a very fine [male] which he
kindly gave me. Sterna frenata was
abundant here a colony having evidently
selected this spit as a breeding ground.
About 100 pairs were collected and I
had a fine chance to watch them.
Their ordinary note is kil-he kill-he
kil lie but when chasing one another the [they]
utter a very loud harsh note almost like
the "cloth ripping" one of S. paradisea [Sterna paradisea]. Sometimes
a pair would come shooting over the
beach [delete]like[/delete] with wings set and inclining
gracefully to the right or left the male
uttering his cries incessantly: at such times
they flew with arrowy swiftness and their