The Black Tern 
The nests are placed variously in the swamp, sometimes on a little 
raft of floating vegetation which the bird has brought together, some¬ 
times on a truncated cone of fresh-cut herbage and twisted grasses resting 
upon the solid earth, but oftenest upon the ample expanse of some grebe’s 
nest, new or old. The little tyrants have no hesitation in appropriating 
a grebe’s nest of fresh construction, even though the rightful owner 
has already deposited eggs. The spitfires have the advantage in being 
able to strike from above, and it is to be feared they sometimes resort 
to mob tactics in case of serious opposition. The pale olive-brown 
eggs, heavily spotted and blotched with blackish brown, harmonize so 
perfectly with their surroundings of decaying and mud-spattered vegeta¬ 
tion as almost to elude-the sight, even after being once discovered. 
As a special instance of nesting in the cattle country, one cannot 
forbear to mention the frequency with which these birds are beguiled by 
the attraction of floating cakes of cow-dung for use as nesting sites. 
These sturdy “cow- 
flops,” raised by 
sudden floods from 
their ancient 
repose in the 
Taken near Los Banos 
Photo by the Author 
BABY PICTURES 
BLACK TERN CHICKS TAKEN ON DAY OF HATCHING 
