File:A history of British birds. By the Rev. F.O. Morris (1862) (14564256680).jpg

Identifier: historyofbritish08morr (find matches)
Title: A history of British birds. By the Rev. F.O. Morris ..
Year: 1862 (1860s)
Authors: Morris, F. O. (Francis Orpen), 1810-1893
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: London, Groombridge and Sons
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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st coast,in Ec^ypt, and at the Cape of Good Hope. So too in Asia—in India, China, the Sandwich Islands, and the Friendly Islands. i t ..i ;i These Terns breed on the coast of Denmark and Jutland. One of these birds occurred at Yarmouth, Norfolk, inOctober, 1825; one in 1839; a third June the 9th., 1849;and one on the 16th. of July, 1850, when one or two otherswere said to have been seen. Another, June 12th., 1851;and another in the middle of August, tlie same year. Inthe county of Lincoln one was shot at Caythorpe, nearGrantham, many miles from the sea, May the 17th. 1853.In Suffolk three or four were also seen, and one of tliem -obtained near Aldborough. ■ They are of migratory habits arriving at the breeding- ■places in April, and departing in August., They travel, it fis said, by day as well as by night. , , n- Meyer savs that the Caspian Tern, when disturbed, fliesinvariably towards the open sea and disappears, but neverseeks its safety by resorting to the land, and thus its
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CASPIAN TEEN. 21 appearance on fresh-water lakes or rivers is consequently-very rare. They roost on the ground. They are very shybirds, always on the look out, and difficult to be approached,except when engaged with their nest and young, but sociableamong themselves. Like the Swallows, these, as all the other Terns, true totheir nom de guerre, are incessantly on the wing, andnothing can be more interesting than to watch them hawkingfor their prey. They swim buoyantly on the water, but do not dive,beyond the plash made in plunging from their stoop. They fly, for their size, in a peculiarly buoyant manner,and hover over a quarry like a hawk, pouncing down andcatching it in an instant. They swim about occasionally,and run with ease and swiftness. They feed on fish, especially those of the herring tribe,or any chance eatable that floats on or near the surface,and even the young of other birds: the former they appearto swallow head foremost. The note is only a harsh cry. The nest is a mere

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