266 SOOTY TERN.
cavity which it scoops in the sand under the trees. But, reader, let us
return to the Bird Key.
Early the next morning I was put on shore, and remained there until
I had completed my observations on the Terns. I paid no attention to
their lamentable cries, which were the less piercing that on this occasion
I did not molest them in the least. Having seated myself on the shelly
sand, which here formed the only soil, I remained almost motionless for
several hours, in consequence of which the birds alighted about me, at
the distance of only a few yards, so that I could plainly see with what
efforts and pains the younger females deposited their eggs. Their bill
was open, and their pantings indicated their distress, but after the egg
had been expelled, they immediately walked off in an awkward manner,
until they reached a place where they could arise without striking the
branches of the bushes near them, when they flew away. Here and there,
in numerous places within twenty yards of me, females, having their complement
of eggs, alighted, and quietly commenced the labour of incubation.
Now and then a male bird also settled close by, and immediately
disgorged a small fish within the reach of the female. After some curious
reciprocal nods of their heads, which were doubtless intended as marks
of affection, the caterer would fly off. Several individuals, which had
not commenced laying their eggs, I saw scratch the sand with their feet,
in the manner of the common fowl, while searching for food. In the
course of this operation, they frequently seated themselves in the shallow
basin to try how it fitted their form, or find out what was still wanted to
ensure their comfort. Not the least semblance of a quarrel did I observe
between any two of these interesting creatures ; indeed, they all appeared
as if happy members of a single family ; and as if to gratify my utmost
wishes, a few of them went through the process of courtship in my presence.
The male birds frequently threw their heads over their back as it were, in
the manner of several species of gulls; they also swelled out their throats,
walked round the females, and ended by uttering a soft puffing sound as
they caressed tjiem. Then the pair for a moment or two walked round
each other, and at length rose on wing and soon disappeared. Such is
one of the many sights it has been my good fortune to witness, and by
each of them have I been deeply impressed with a sense of the pervading
power of the Deity.
The Sooty Tern always lays three eggs as its full number, and in no
SOOTY TERN. 267
instance, among thousands of the nests which were on the Bird Key, did
I find one more when the female was sitting close. I was desirous of ascertaining
whether the male and the female incubate alternately ; but this
I was unable to do, as the birds frequently left their eggs for half an
hour or even three quarters at a time, but rarely longer. This circumstance,
together with the very slight difference in size and colour between
the sexes, was the cause of my failure.
It was curious to observe their actions whenever a large party landed
on the island. All those not engaged in incubation would immediately
rise in the air and scream aloud; those on the ground would then join them
as quickly as they could, and the whole forming a vast mass, with a broad
extended front, would as it were charge us, pass over for fifty yards or so,
then suddenly wheel round, and again renew their attack. This they would
repeat six or eight times in succession. When the sailors, at our desire,
all shouted as loud as they could, the phalanx would for an instant become
perfectly silent, as if to gather our meaning; but the next moment,
like a huge wave breaking on the beach, it would rush forward with
deafening noise.
When wounded and seized by the hand, this bird bites severely, and
utters a plaintive cry differing from its usual note, which is loud and
shrill, resembling the syllables oo-ee, oo-ee. Their nests are all scooped
near the roots or stems of the bushes, and under the shade of their boughs,
in many places within a few inches of each other. There is less difference
between their eggs, than is commonly seen in those of water birds, both
with respect to size and colouring. They generally measure two inches
and one-eighth, by one and a-half, have a smooth shell, with the ground
of a pale cream colour, sparingly marked with various tints of lightish
umber, and still lighter marks of purple, which appear as if within the
shell. The Lieutenant, N. LACOSTE, Esq. informed me that shortly after
the young are hatched, they ramble pell-mell over the island, to meet
their parents, and be fed by them ; that these birds have been known to
collect there for the purpose of breeding, since the oldest wreckers on
that coast can recollect; and that they usually arrive in May, and remain
until the beginning of August, when they retire southward to spend
the winter months. I could not however obtain a sufficiently accurate
description of the different states of plumage which they go through, so
as to enable me to describe them in the manner I should wish to do. All