265 
Sterna hirundo. 
1874o 
(Juno 26). A few seoii as £ was crossing the vin 9 j’'ard Sound, 
and swam as I approached Nantucket, 
* 28, Watched a number fishing along the shore at the base 
of the Bluffs, Several dove so near mo that I could dis¬ 
tinctly see them under water; they descended a foot or 
more belov^ the surface and sometimes swam several feet 
before emerging, I could not make out v/hether thgy used 
their vrings or not These Terns collect in sv/aiTis over 
the shoals of blue-fish, the latter driving small fish 
to the surface v^hero the birds see. tkeiri.seize them, 
A flock of one hundred or more Terns hovering over the 
water, dozens plunging down together within a radius of a 
fevr yards, presents a most interesting spectacle. On 
On the average they seem to catch a fish in about once 
in four or five plunges. The notes of this species are: 
a harsh vibrating cry v/hich seems to express anger or 
impatience, and a soft satisfied chick . (Nantucket), 
July 4. 
A pair fishing in the manner of a Gull, skimming 
along close to the v/ater, and picking up dead fishes y/-ith- 
out diving. This species very rarely alights on the 
v;ater unless wounded. The flocks on the sand bars pre¬ 
sent a most beautiful appearance, the black of the crov/n 
sharply contrasted with the pearly blue of the mantle. 
The paired birds invariably sit close together, those 
along the waters edge vmshing or pruning themselves. 
When a nev^ comer alights among them ho is greeted with 
loud cries of welcome. I have repeated seen a wounded 
bird whichb had been taken into the boat, immediately 
begin pluming and arranging his feathers. This happened 
to-day vmth one that had both eyes shot out and a wing 
broken. The bones of this as v;oll as allied species 
VAill bend to almost any extent \Yithout breaking. Both 
sexes incubate, as is shovm by the three bare spots on 
the breast and abdomen. It is difficult to secure good 
specimens as blood flov:s profusely from the slightest 
v/’ound. (Nantucket), 
Flev/ all day in multitudes close in shore under the 
Bluffs, They invariably fly to the westward v/-h(^ the 
v/ind is in that quarter, and often crvitinue doing so for 
days during which none v/ere seen to return until the v/ind 
changes to the eastward v/hen they pour back in a steady 
stream. During these flights they rarely stop to fish 
by the vmy. When there is but little vring they are 
flying about in all directions, usually some distance 
from shore. (Nantucket), 
7. Brooding by thousands on Muskogat, As I walked ovr 
the sand hills clouds vrere continually rising four or f iv? 
hundred yards ahead, coming directly tovrards me and cir¬ 
cling about high over head, keeping up a deafening racket. 
If one were shot hundreds would collect over him in a 
few minutes. If a gull appeared they would immediately* 
give chase-and continue to harass him as long as he re¬ 
mained in the piaee air. Although the eggors say that 
that begin to lay about Juno 16, we did not find a single 
