36 LETTERS TO MARCO vi 



Dictionary of the Thames (which contains a 

 capital article on the birds) I found that terns 

 have frequently been seen about here, and 

 one, "the sooty tern," was shot here in 1869. 

 I did not shoot any, and all I can send you 

 is my account of how they looked and what 

 they did ; no doubt you will be able to tell 

 me whether they were terns or not. 



At first sight I took them for a flock of 

 pigeons, but their rapid flight and the way 

 they hawked up and down over the water 

 soon convinced me they were sea-birds of 

 some sort. I placed myself at the boat-house 

 window so as to get as good an observation 

 as possible. I counted nine of them, and as 

 they flew past repeatedly very close to me, 

 I noticed that they varied a good deal in their 

 plumage ; one especially was distinctly smaller 

 and darker, the head and body brownish 

 black, the belly and wings of a dusky gray ; 

 the others varied in colour, some appearing 

 lighter than others, and the black on the 

 heads varied also ; their general colour was a 



