Ornithological biography, Vol. 3 (of 5)

by John James Audubon

Bill black, excepting the tips, which are yellow; inside of the mouth deep blue. Iris brown. Feet black. The upper part of the head, occiput and part of hind neck bluish-black. Sides of the head, neck all round, and the rest of the lower parts white, the breast frequently tinged with pink. The fore part of the back, the scapulars and the upper surface of the wings pale greyish-blue; the tips and the greater parts of the inner webs of the scapulars, and quills white, as are the rump and the tail; the four outer quills blackish, but covered with light grey down, on the outer webs and over a considerable extent of the inner, their shafts white.

Length to end of tail 15 3/4 inches, to end of wings 16 8/12; to end of claws 12 3/4; extent of wings 33 3/4; wing from flexure 12 1/4; tail 6; bill along the back 2 1/4, along the edge of lower mandible 2 10/12; tarsus 1 1/2/12; middle toe 9 1/2/12, its claw 5/12. Weight 6 1/2 oz.

The Female is similar to the Male.

The young, after the first moult, are of a light greyish-blue colour on the upper parts, the feathers tipped and banded in an undulating manner with brownish-black; the upper part of the head and the hind neck are of the latter colour, but mottled with white. The quills are as in the adult, the tail grey, with irregular brownish-black markings towards the tips of the feathers. The lower parts are also pale grey, but much lighter than the upper. The bill and feet are black, but the tip of the former has not yet assumed a yellow tint.

THE BLACK TERN.

Sterna nigra, Linn.
PLATE CCLXXX. Adult Male and Young.

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 abundant in the neighbourhood, breeding on the margins of ponds at a short distance 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 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 noisy 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 constantly 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 round 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.