THE ARCTIC TERN. 
267 
I felt agitated with a desire to possess it. Our guns were accordingly 
charged with mustard-seed shot, and one after another you might have 
seen the gentle birds come whirling down upon the waters. But previous 
to this I had marked their mode of flight, their manner of procuring 
their prey, and their notes, that I might be able to finish the picture from 
life. Alas, poor things ! how well do I remember the pain it gave me, to be 
thus obliged to pass and execute sentence upon them. At that very moment 
I thought of those long-past times, when individuals of my own species 
were similarly treated ; but I excused myself with the plea of necessity, as 
I recharged my double gun. As soon as a sufficient number of males and 
females lay dead at our feet, we retired from the water’s edge, to watch the 
motions of the survivors, among whom confusion and dismay prevailed, as 
they dashed close over our heads, and vociferated their maledictions. We 
did not, however, depart until we had tried a curious experiment for the 
third time. A female had been shot, and lay dead on the water for a con- 
siderable while. Her mate, whom I was unwilling to destroy, alighted upon 
her, and attempted to caress her, as if she had been alive. The same cir- 
eumstance took place three different times, on our throwing the dead bird on 
the water. Something of the same nature I have related in my article on 
the Wild Turkey. All this happened in the month of June 1833, when 
none of the Arctic Terns had yet produced eggs, although we found them 
nearly ready to lay, as were the Piping Plovers. 
Our schooner now sailed onward, and carried us to the dreary shores of 
Labrador. There, after some search, we met with a great flock of Arctic 
Terns breeding on a small island slightly elevated above the sea. Myriads 
of these birds were there sitting on their eggs. The individuals were older 
than those which we had seen on the Magdalene Islands, ; for the more 
advanced in life the individuals of any species are, the more anxious are 
they to reproduce, the sooner do they proceed to their summer residence, 
and the more extensive is the range of their migration northward. On the 
other hand, the younger the bird is, the farther south it removes during 
winter, both because it thus enjoys a milder climate, and requires less exer- 
tion in procuring its food ; whereas the older individuals not only have a 
stronger constitution, but are more expert in discovering and securing their 
prey, so that it is not necessary for them to extend their journey so far. 
The Arctic Tern is found with us on the eastern coasts of the United 
States only, where it appears, from the shores of New Jersey northwards 
in autumn, and whence it departs in early spring. No sooner have the 
winter tempests subsided, than it is observed gliding along the coast, together 
with many other birds. In the beginning of March, you see it following 
the sinuosities of the shores, some passing directly from the Sable Islands 
