Part 10

Smallest of our terns. Adult in summer.—Crown, nape, and line through the eye, black; forehead and line above the eye, white; bill and feet yellow, the former black at the tip. In winter, the crown is white, the blackish being restricted to the nape and about the eyes.

These pretty little sea swallows were abundant both on the coast and in the interior but are yearly becoming more scarce especially on the Atlantic coast. They are very aggressive when anyone approaches their nesting grounds and will continually dash down at you as they utter their sharp cries of disapproval.

Notes.—A sharp, metallic clattering “cheep, cheep.”

Nest.—Two or three eggs are laid upon the bare sand. They are buffy-gray, sharply specked with blackish (1.25 × .95).

Range.—Breeds north to Mass., the Great Lakes and Calif.; winters south of the United States.

SOOTY TERN 75. Sterna fuscata. 17 in.

Adult in summer.—Above sooty-black, except the white outer tail feathers. Crown, line through the eye, bill and feet, black; forehead and underparts white; eye red. Young birds are smoky slate color all over, with the tail feathers, and some on the back and breast, tipped with whitish. This is the “egg bird” of tropical countries, thousands of their eggs being taken for food.

Note.—A nasal “ker-wacky-wak” (Chapman).

Nest.—A single egg deposited in a hollow in the sand; it is creamy-white, spotted with blackish-brown.

Range.—Tropical countries; breeds north to the Florida Keys and islands in the Gulf of Mexico; sometimes wanders north to New England.

BRIDLED TERN 76. Sterna anætheta. 15 in.

Similar to the last, but the back and wings much lighter, and the white of the forehead extends over the eyes; nape whitish.

Range.—Breeds north to the Bahamas.

BLACK TERN 77. Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis. 10 in.

Adults in summer with the head, neck and underparts, black; back, wings and tail, dark gray; eyes brown. In winter, the forehead, neck and underparts are white; nape and patch back of eye blackish.

In summer these little terns are found only in the interior, where they nest about marshy ponds. They are very pugnacious and will sometimes touch an intruder with their wings as they dart past. As usual with the family, they nest in colonies.

Notes.—A sharp “peek.” (Chapman).

Nest.—A pile of weeds and trash in sloughs on the prairies, or about the edges of marshy lakes, the nests often being surrounded by, and partly floating in the water. The three eggs are very dark colored, having an olive-brown or greenish background, blotched with black (1.35 × .95).

Range.—Breeds in the interior from middle U. S. north to Alaska and Hudson Bay; winters south of the U. S., migrating along the Atlantic coast as well as in the interior.

NODDY 79. Anous stolidus. 15 in.

Adults with the crown silvery-white, the rest of the plumage being sooty-brown; the bill, feet and line to the eye are black. The plumage of these beautiful birds is very soft and pleasing to the eye. They look to be gentle and confiding, and a closer acquaintance shows that they are. They will frequently allow themselves to be touched with the hand before they leave their nests. They are abundant in some of the Bahaman and West Indian Islands, where they nest in company with other species.

Notes.—A hoarse reedy “cack” increasing to a guttural “k-r-r-r-r-r-r-r.” (Chapman).

Nest.—Of sticks and grasses, placed at low elevations in the tops of trees and bushes, or upon the ground. The single egg that they lay is buffy, spotted with black and brown (2.00 × 1.30).

Range.—Breeds north to the Bahamas and on Bird Key near Key West; rarely wanders on the Atlantic coast to South Carolina.

SKIMMERS—Family Rynchopidæ

BLACK SKIMMER 80. Rynchops nigra. 18 in.

These strange birds are not apt to be mistaken for any other. They are locally abundant on the South Atlantic coast as far north as Virginia. Their flight is swift and more direct than that of terns; they fly in compact flocks, in long sweeps over the water, feeding by dropping their long, thin mandible beneath the surface and gathering in everything edible that comes in their path.

Notes.—Baying like a pack of hounds.