Like the Gulls, Terns have been slaughtered in enormous numbers for millinery purposes; but in this country, at least, effective efforts are now being made to preserve them.
Skimmers nest in numbers on our Atlantic Coast from Virginia southward, laying their four eggs in a slight depression in the sand. In feeding, their mouth is held open and the longer, thin, lower mandible is dropped beneath the surface of the water, when, flying rapidly, they readily pick up food.
In young Skimmers, however, the two mandibles are of equal length and the lower mandible does not become appreciably longer than the upper one until the birds begin to fly. During the flightless period of the bird's life, the bill may be used to pick up food along the shore, but when the power of flight is acquired and with it ability to feed in the characteristic Skimmer manner, then the peculiar bill of these birds becomes fully developed.
The young of all the Gulls and Terns are born covered with down and can leave the nest a few hours after birth. The Noddy, however, is said to be several weeks in its stick nest, which, unlike other members of its group, it often builds in bushes.
The young are colored to harmonize with their usual surroundings. Young Skimmers are pale, sandy brown, of the same color as the sand in which they are hatched. Young Terns are darker, and young Laughing Gulls born in nests of reeds or meadow grasses, are the darkest of the three.
All young Gulls and Terns have the habit of squatting low near the ground in the presence of danger and remaining motionless until actually touched when they seem to realize that they have been seen and trust to their legs for safety.
Skua and Jaegers
| 35. Skua (Megalestris skua). L. 22. Ads. Above dark, dirty brown; below paler. Yng. Similar, but more distinctly streaked with yellowish, especially on head and neck. Range.—North Atlantic, chiefly eastern; breeds from Shetland Islands northward; winters south to Gibraltar, and rarely Long Island. One specimen from California coast. 36. Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus). L. 20; B. 1.5. Middle tail feathers rounded. Ads. light phase. Cap black; throat, breast, and neck, all around, white tinged with straw; back, lower belly, upper and under tail coverts brownish slate. Ads. dark phase. Dark brown, paler below. Yng. Above blackish brown margined with rusty; below white margined with dusky and buffy. Notes. "A low, hoarse, chattering cry." (Nelson.) Range.—Northern hemisphere; breeds north of Lat. 70°; winters, mainly at sea, south to South America, southern Africa and Australia. 37. Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus). L. 17; B. 1.1; its scaly shield longer than distance from end of shield to tip of bill. Ads. Both phases similar in color to No. 36, but central tail feathers pointed, 8.6 long. Yng. Similar in color to No. 36 but smaller, bill shorter, middle tail feathers more pointed. Notes. "Loud wailing cries, interspersed with harsh shrieks." (Nelson.) Range.—Northern hemisphere; breeds in Arctic regions; winters mainly at sea, from California, Great Lakes, and Massachusetts south to South America. 38. Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus). L. 21; B. 1, its scaly shield shorter than the distance from its end to the tip of bill. Ads. In both phases resembling No. 36 but central tail feathers pointed and 12 in. long. Yng. Like No. 36 and No. 37, but to be distinguished by differences in bill measurements. Notes. "A hoarse qua, a shrill phĕū-phĕū-phĕū-pheo, when flying; or a rattling kr-r-r-r-, kr-r-r-r, kr-r-r, krē-krē-, krē-krē, the latter syllables shrill and querulous." (Nelson.) Range.—Northern hemisphere; breeds in Arctic regions; winters mainly at sea, south to Gibraltar and Gulf of Mexico; one California record. |