a» 
On Lonely Bird Key 233 
our coming nearly 
all the birds had 
eggs and were de- 
voting themselves to 
their family cares. 
Wo reach the 
buildings from the 
little landing - place 
we had to pass 
through a tract of 
bushes, and here it 
was that I saw the 
first nests of the 
noddies. Upon the 
tops or in the forks 
of the bushes, each 
pair had built a 
rather rude, yet 
fairly.substantial, 
platform of sticks, 
only slightly hol- 
lowed, and upon 
each one sat a dark 
gray bird. There 
was something about these graceful little 
creatures that instantly took me by storm, 
a case of love at first sight. The noddy is 
very much like a dove—except for its 
webbed feet—in size, in form, in the soft- 
ness of its plumage, the expression of its 
large dark eyes, and its gentle confiding 
ways. There is no wild affright as the 
stranger approaches. Just a shadow of 
fear is evident, but the birds sit quietly on 
their nests, hoping and trusting, and do 
ve : ‘ 
A Pair of Noddies on Nest. 
Sooty Tern over Egg. 
not fly unless approached almost within 
arms’ reach. Then they flit gently away, 
alighting upon a neighboring bush until 
the intruder has withdrawn, when they 
return directly to their charge. It seemed 
remarkable to find birds so perfectly tame. 
Here, too, at the outset, we began to see 
the manner of life of the sooty tern. Their 
homes are never upon the bushes, but on 
the ground, either under them or out in 
the open, just above the beach or in other 
open spots. Home- 
making is reduced 
to the lowest terms, 
merely a hollow 
scratched in the 
sand, the work of a 
moment, and all is 
ready for the egg. It 
seems strange that 
both these species 
lay but one egg. If 
robbed, they will lay 
again and again, but 
each pair raises only 
a single chick each 
season. Itisawon- 
derful adaptation of 
Nature that many 
of the sea birds 
which are inedible 
to man andhave few 
natural enemies lay 
