ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES. 81 



To the first, " From London," I replied, while to 

 the second, I observed that her delicious milk and oat- 

 cake were fast becoming amenable to a very galloping 

 stage of that ravaging disease. 



On descending to the water- side, I killed a fine 

 specimen of the common tern (Sterna hirundo), after 

 watching for some time the very beautiful and at the 

 same time wonderful mode in which these birds obtain 

 their food. Skimming along the water's edge, but 

 maintaining a considerable height from its surface, 

 they suddenly abate their speed, and hover for a 

 moment, somewhat akin to the steady pose of the kes- 

 trel, in a very dexterous and pretty manner ; they then 

 drop down to the water almost as quickly as they rise 

 from it, submerging nothing but the points of their 

 beautiful vermilion mandibles, with which they seldom 

 fail to secure their prey, usually in the shape of the 

 tiny little sand-eel, one of the fastest inhabitants of 

 the waters, and which they almost immediately 

 swallow. 



On the opposite side of the loch I also killed the 

 Arctic tern (Sterna arctica], which swallow-like, 

 graceful bird only differs from the common species in 

 the upper and under mandible being one quarter of an 

 inch shorter, and of a bright coral-red throughout its 

 entire length. The tarsus also is shorter and the 

 under surface of a deeper grey. In the centre of this 

 loch is a small circular island of artificial construction, 



