Ironically must this particularly beautiful, graceful sea swallow now be called the common tern, for common is scarcely has been, except in the dry-goods stores, since its sharply pointed wings, and often its entire body also, were thought by the milliners to give style to women's hats. Great boxes full of distorted terns, their bills at impossible angles, their wings and tails bunched together...
(which almost wiped them out until people got together and banned this horrible practice)

But whether flirting, nesting, hunting, or flying at leisure, there is a refreshing joyousness about the tern that makes it a delight to watch. Another beautiful sight is the pose of a tern just before alighting, when with long, pointed wings held for a moment high above its back, they flutter like the wings of a butterfly.

Neltje Blanchan Birds that Hunt and are Hunted

-a new friend was such a help today, with kind words and a listening ear when I most needed one and I am so grateful to have run into her.