EXTRACTIONS FROM THE UNPUBLISHED SPECIES ACCOUNTS OF A. WETMORE 
STERNA FUSCATA 
May 6, 1923 . In the light of a flashlight these’ tefns merely turn the hack and 
make no attempt to fly. The clamor about their colonies is positively deafening and 
after a visit my ears rang as they do following a visit to some steel-working 
factory. Destruction of eggs among them is heavy and I notice a steady 
diminution in the new colony in the Sesuvium. 
May 8 - 15 , 1923 . Larger nnumbers of these terns have joined the colonies in the 
past few days and the colony in the Sesuvium has grown steadily. 
May 13 , 1923 . I passed through the colony at the tobacco patch and found incubation 
begun with the females sitting closely. As I passed they called harshly and 
often permitted themselves to be touched before they left their eggs. These 
show an infinite variety in pattern and marking. With incubation begun the 
colonies are much quieter than during the period of pairing and deposition. Pairs 
are often observed flying about in the air. Apparently selection of mates takes 
place in the air, which accounts for their flocking in the air before breeding. 
Lisiansky Island , May l 6 , 1923 . A colony nesting in the grass tract. The majority 
now have eggs. The birds cover closely and often allowed me to step over them. 
May 18 , 1923 > Many, No young yet. 
May 19 , 1923 . About 250 pairs nesting here. 
Gardiner Island , May 22 , 1923 . About 50 pairs on some of the higher flatter ledges 
with a few scattered about with the gray-backed terns. 
May 25 , 1923 . Seen at sea north of French Frigate Shoals. 
Nihoa Island , May 24 - 26 , 1923 . Seen. 
June ll-l6, 1923 . About 6000 pairs bred from the lower rock cliffs clear to the 
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higher summits. They gathered in small colonies on the lower slopes, the 
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larger congregations being found on the highest slopes below the highest peak. 
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An inner protected slope here that led steeply through a huge rock cleft was 
