Page:The birds of America, volume 7.djvu/161

Rh portion of it has been drained. It is now known by the name of Hope- Distillery Pond, and lies a few hundred yards from the Ohio, but is nearly surrounded with buildings of various kinds. Alexander Wilson, to whom I shewed the old nests of the Black Tern at this place, did not seem to be acquainted with the bird, and thought that they were those of some species of Rail.

The nest is usually placed on the top of a broken tussock of the rankest grasses, of which it is itself composed, it being of a flattish form, and about two inches thick. It is enlarged or renewed every year, some nests being found to be from four to six inches in height. In some instances the water surrounds the foot of the tussock on which it is placed. They begin to lay on the first days of June. The eggs, of which the full number is four, greatly resemble in colour those of the Sandwich and Arctic Terns. When disturbed at this season, these birds are as noisjr as any of the tribe; but they remain close over the place, and go to the river only at intervals to procure food. Both sexes incubate by turns, and the eggs are kept con- stantly covered. They average in length one inch and three-eighths, by one inch across, and are nearly of an elliptical form, being but slightly pointed at one end; their ground-colour is greenish-buff, spotted and dashed with reddish umber and black, more abundantly toward the middle. I took the trouble of counting the number of nests around the pond, and found it more than seventy. About the middle of August the young fly well, and are able to seek food, for themselves. I have seen the parent birds feed them on wing in the manner of Swallows.

They alight less frequently on the water than the larger species. On shore they walk like Swallows. During autumn they hunt for food over the wet prairies, passing low, and picking up the insects as they proceed without alighting. At this season, both old and young have become more silent. They are at all times less shy than most others of the tribe. Their principal food consists of aquatic insects and small fry, and their flesh is tolerably good.

Since I wrote the above notice, I have been informed by my youngest son that this species was still seen about the Falls of the Ohio, in considerable numbers, a few years ago; but that, although he observed them there in spring, summer, and early autumn, he did not discover their breeding grounds, which are perhaps now farther inland than formerly. Sterna nigra, Bonap. Syn., p. 355.

Sterna nigra, Black Tern, Swains, and Rich. F. Bor. Amer., vol. ii. p. 415. Black Tern or Stern, Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 282.

Black Tern, Sterna nigra, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. iii. p. 535; vol. v. p. 642.