Page:The birds of America, volume 7.djvu/158



The Black Tern begins to arrive from the Mexican territories over the waters of the Western Country about the middle of April, and continues to pass for about a month. At that season I have observed it ascending the Mississippi from New Orleans to the head waters of the Ohio, then cutting over the land, and arriving at the Great Lakes, beyond which many proceed still farther northward. But I have rarely met with them along our Atlantic shores until autumn, when the young, which, like those of all other Terns with which I am acquainted, mostly keep by themselves until spring, make their appearance there. Nor did I see a single individual when on my way to Labrador, or during my visit to that country. They re-appear in the Western Country, in the course of their southern migration, in the months of September and October; but many pairs breed in the intermediate range. When residing at Louisville in Kentucky, I found the Black Tern abun- dant in the neighbourhood, breeding on the margins of ponds at a short dis- tance from the Ohio. I also found them with nests and eggs on a pond near Vincennes, in the State of Indiana. Now, however, they have abandoned those places, and merely pass over the country on their way to and from the northern regions.

Often have I watched their graceful, light and rapid flight, as they advanced and passed over in groups of twenty, thirty or more, from the delightful residence of my worthy friend and kind relative Nicholas Berthoud, Esq. of Shippingport, during the month of May, when Nature, opening her stores anew, benignly smiled upon the favoured land of Kentucky. The gay birds were seen ranging from the basin at the foot of the rapids to the lower part of the narrow channel which separates Sandy Island from the shore, up the clear stream and down again, plunging at short intervals into the water to seize their prey, and continuing their pleasing occupations through the whole day. When the period of reproduction arrived, they would all betake themselves to the ponds, and search along their moist shores for tufts of rank grass such as might form suitable places for their nests. One of their favourite ponds still remains in part, although a great