LEAST TERN
74. Sterna antillarum. 9 in.
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.
