372 
LESSER TERN. 
perhaps greater numbers ; coasts along the shores, and also 
over the pools in the salt marshes, in search of prawns, of 
which it is particularly fond ; hovers, suspended in the air, 
for a few moments above its prey, exactly in the manner of 
some of our small Hawks, and dashes headlong down into the 
water after it, generally seizing it with its bill ; mounts instantly 
again to the same height, and moves slowly along as before, 
eagerly examining the surface below. About the 25th of 
May, or beginning of June, the female begins to lay. The 
eggs are dropt on the dry and warm sand, the heat of which, 
during the day, is fully sufficient for the purpose of incubation. 
This heat is sometimes so great, that one can scarcely bear 
the hand in it for a few moments without inconvenience. The 
wonder would, therefore, be the greater should the bird sit 
on her eggs during the day, when her warmth is altogether 
unnecessary, and perhaps injurious, than that she should cover 
them only during the damps of night, and in wet and stormy 
weather ; and furnishes another proof that the actions of birds 
are not the effect of mere blind impulse, but of volition, 
regulated by reason, depending on various incidental circum- 
stances to which their parental cares are ever awake. I lately 
visited those parts of the beach on Cape May where this little 
bird breeds. The eggs, generally four in number, were 
placed on the flat sands, safe beyond the reach of the highest 
summer tide. They were of a yellowish brown colour, blotched 
with rufous, and measured nearly an inch and three quarters 
in length. During my whole stay, these birds flew in crowds 
around me, and often within a few yards of my head, squeaking 
like so many young pigs, which their voice strikingly resembles. 
A Humming Bird, that had accidentally strayed to the place, 
appeared suddenly among this outrageous group, several of 
whom darted angrily at him ; but he shot like an arrow from 
them, directing his flight straight towards the ocean. I have 
no doubt but the distressing cries of the Terns had drawn this 
little creature to the scene, having frequently witnessed his 
anxious curiosity on similar occasions in the woods. 
