263 
1867. 
Sopt.2-7i, 
1870. 
June 39-=- 
July 2* 
July 1, 
1874. 
June 18. 
Sterna hirunda. 
Abundant fishing in the bay during the day and in ths 
afternoon leaving for the southward in flocks of five to 
thirty (Plymouth, Mass,), 
Breeding on Muskegat in vast nu mbers with S.mac rura 
and S, paradisea . Multitudes were continually in sight 
hovering over their eggs or des(;eriding to them, sealing 
about close over the ground like Swallows,or plunging 
into the sea for figh. They were Very shy, invariably 
rising three or four hundred yards ahead, and hovering 
above up just out of range, keeping up a deafening clamoii; 
If one was shot the others instantly became silent and 
gliding down to the fallen bird from all sides on sot 
Vfings, poised a few feet above it redoubling their clamor. 
The more birds killed the more excited and enraged the 
survivers became. If one wore missed or slightly woun¬ 
ded, they vrould at once disperse or scale off vrith it. 
On the Short-eared Owls they waged perpetual -war, fftllo'w- 
ing them in perfect clouds whenever they appeared on the 
Island. Their cries are a short hoit , a harsh, peevish 
ti—arrr , and, when chasing one aiiother, a rolling tr-tr— 
JXrJ;e.eTheyv are peaceable, seldom quarrelling. 
Large clusters frequently collected on the bare spaces 
of sand where they vmre very shy. Always nea and care¬ 
ful of their plumage they invariably elevated their tails 
in walking over the wot sand. Even the plumage of the 
sitting birds was beautifully clean and free from stain. 
We could istinguish this species from the Arctic Terns 
only by the color of the bill. It was impossible to es¬ 
timate the number of birds breeding here but the e must 
have been many thousand pairs. Wo found but few eggs 
containing embryos and not a single young bird. 
Thousands of nests on the island; some large and 
composed of dry grass or ivy twigs, others merely a slight 
hollo’w in the seaweed at high water mark, or in the beach 
sand. They seemed to prefer, hov/ever, the inland ridges 
\/hor 0 among the stunted ivy they bred in company with 
^,pa;r,adj^^ea^_ and a few of Ch . atricilla . The number of 
eggs Varied from one to three, but the latter seemed the 
regular number. The nests were usually at least a rod 
apart, though occasionally nearly touching.(Muskegat Id.). 
About a hundred on a sand bar near High Ground; 
they were apparnetly mated, each pair sitting close to- 
gethera and also flying together. I saw a number flying 
about with small fish held crossv/ise in their bills; 
they v/ill not breed for some time, however. When sitting 
on the sand bars they had a habit of raising their wings 
over their backs and exposing them to the breeze. (Mar- 
ston’s Mills,Mass, ). 
