They nest in inland marshes and around lakes, forming loose colonies on favorite nesting sites. Floating vegetation, muskrat houses, in fact most any structure strong enough to support a nest is used.
Black Terns feed on larger insects such as moths, grasshoppers, dragonflies and water insects which they obtain from the air or by gliding down and picking them from the water. They can be seen flying over the fields like swallows or nighthawks, feeding as they go. When flying over lakes, they often hover then glide to the surface for minnows or insects.
These terns spend the winter in South America and migrate earlier than some species. They also arrive later from their winter homes.
What are those birds, we’d like to know,
Which fly like swallows, black as crow?
Twisting, turning, then a glide,
To pluck some morsel which they’ve spied.
Mourning Dove
Zenaidura macroura
There is something about a dove which makes you want to know him better. Could it be his low mournful call? (And why do we call it mournful? Someone described it in that manner, and while it is not as colorful as other bird notes, it has a restful and pleasing quality.) Could it be the graceful flight which shows the pointed tail with the white trimming? Could it be dainty steps which seem to fit his personality? Perhaps the way he drinks by inserting his bill and swallowing water until he has his fill. It might be the way he builds his nest: no time wasted when this bird constructs a home. It might even be the way he jerks his head, as if trying to get a better focus on the sights of the world.