. The birds of the British Isles and their eggs . ^i:^ *^>-. :.*i •^ - ■1i • / j - fi^ - ^r: y -^>-- » * ^^ •^. >•>•*■ Little Tern on iiest. SANDWICH TERN. 247 Other terns or Black-headed Gulls, consist of half a dozen tofifty nests, usually close together. At Ravenglass most of thesegroups of nests are on the slopes of the dunes amongst sparsemarram grass. As incubation proceeds the nests (Plate no)become more and more evident, owing to the insanitary habitsof the sitting bird, and often they are surrounded by scatteredfeathers. The eggs (Plate 94) are light in ground—creamy white
. The birds of the British Isles and their eggs . ^i:^ *^>-. :.*i •^ - ■1i • / j - fi^ - ^r: y -^>-- » * ^^ •^. >•>•*■ Little Tern on iiest. SANDWICH TERN. 247 Other terns or Black-headed Gulls, consist of half a dozen tofifty nests, usually close together. At Ravenglass most of thesegroups of nests are on the slopes of the dunes amongst sparsemarram grass. As incubation proceeds the nests (Plate no)become more and more evident, owing to the insanitary habitsof the sitting bird, and often they are surrounded by scatteredfeathers. The eggs (Plate 94) are light in ground—creamy white torich buff—and are beautifully speckled, streaked, or blotchedwith black, brown, and grey ; two is the usual number, butsingle eggs are common. The light ground shows up themarkings, and they are much sought for on account of theirbeauty by collectors, and for other reasons by Black-headedGulls. The parent birds are said to be less demonstrative indefence of eggs and young than other species, but they certainlystoop at the head of visitor
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookidbirds, bookpublisherlondon
