teked wrote:
Spectacular series, Herb #4 is way cool. So why do the female terns hold a fish while mating?? Is this provided by the male as some sort of payment for the act??
Ed
That's exactly correct Ed. The male presents a killie or a baitfish and then jumps on top after transferring it to the female. The least terns are a bit more untrustworthy. The male does't give up the fish until he's sure he's in position and that it's definitely going to happen.