GURRS AND TKRNS OF NEW ENGLAND. 205 
Finishing up this long list is a bird that so far has es¬ 
caped me. The Black Tern, (Hydrochelidon nigra surin- 
amensis ), who is said to be, in some years, a rather com¬ 
mon migrant on the coast in August and September. He 
is a little fellow, ten inches long, dressed in summer al¬ 
most entirely in dark slate color. But he shows a very re¬ 
markable color change, for in winter the under parts be¬ 
come white and the back and wings pearl gray. He breeds 
from Kansas to Alaska, but at this season is not found near 
the Atlantic coast. 
His originality is shown as much in diet as in dress, for 
fish is said to form no part of his bill of fare. Aquatic in¬ 
sects and dragon-flies are the favored articles, the latter 
being caught with great dexterity on the wing. Though 
nesting in swamps and on lake shores, this bird may often 
be found far from water, for his great powers of flight lead 
him to long excursions in pursuit of his food. 
The gulls make up a class of birds whose use to man is 
very apparent. Before their numbers were so depleted 
along the coast by the demands of modish millinery, they 
formed the greatest factor in the solution of the garbage 
question in our great coast cities. They are everywhere, 
where water and food are to be found, of course in great¬ 
est numbers where there is the most food. So the Herring 
Gull, being less shy than the others, took possession of our 
harbors and the contract to keep them clean, at least in 
winter. I have heard of a flock of hundreds of them es¬ 
corting a tow of garbage scows down New York harbor, wait¬ 
ing for a feast when the dumping ground should be reached. 
Anyone who goes to the popular beaches in summer can¬ 
not help thinking that the gulls should stay the year round, 
their duties are not well looked after in their absence. Af¬ 
ter a wind has been blowing from seaward, refuse of all 
kinds is cast upon the shore. Everything that he can di¬ 
gest is food for the gull, and if the article is at all quest- 
