This species is the most gracefully formed of the terns. The tail is 7.5 in. long, forked to a depth of 5.25 in. In summer, the bill is blackish, changing to red only at the base. The underparts are a beautiful rosy tint in the breeding season; tail entirely white; feet red. In winter the usual changes occur, and young birds have dusky edges to the feathers of the back and wings. Terns are now becoming more abundant on our coast, their slaughter and persecution for millinery purposes fortunately having been stopped in time to prevent their extinction.
They feed chiefly upon small fish and marine insects, and often gather about fishing boats, waiting for an opportunity to dive after any bit that may be thrown overboard.
Notes.—A harsh “cack” and “tee-arr,” like that of the common Tern.
Nest.—Eggs like those of the similar terns.
Range.—Breeds on the Atlantic coast north to Mass.; winters south of the U. S.
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.