834 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



ample ; tail short and even, or long and forked ; tarsus short, 

 slender; toes short; web usually scalloped. Plumage mostly pale 

 grey and white, or black and white. 



Terns may be said to be Gulls with straighter and more slender 

 bills, of a more delicate make, with longer wings and shorter 

 legs. They spend the greater part of their lives on the wing, 

 and always seek their food whilst flying, occasionally plunging into 

 the water for it, but generally seizing it off the surface ; a few hunt 

 over marshes and fields, and eat grasshoppers and other insects. 

 They fly with moderate rapidity in an unsteady wavering manner, 

 and at a moderate height, and are noisy birds, screaming conti- 

 nually. Their short legs and feet are quite unsuited for active 

 progression on the water, on which indeed they rarely alight. 

 During the heat of the day, they rest on sand-banks in vast 

 numbers. They have a vernal moult, in general confined to 

 the region of the head, in a few extended to the lower 

 surface. 



In their anatomy, colouration, and changes of plumage, they 

 quite resemble Gulls, as well as in their mode of propagation, and 

 in the colour of their eg-o-s. 



Terns are found all over the world, many having a wide distri- 

 bution. They are tolerably abundant throughout the greater part 

 of India, swarming in some of our large rivers, and especially at the 

 mouths of tidal rivers and estuaries. They are generally called 

 Tehari, H., occasionally Ganga-chil, and Macli-louka, i. e., the 

 Ganges kite, and Fish-snatcher ; Mamadcmc, Tel., also Samdrapu- 

 kaka, i. e., Sea Crow ; Kivi of the Goncls. 



They may be sub-divided into several natural groups, distin- 

 guished both by slight structural features, and by habits. These 

 groups are ; — 



1st. — Marsh Terns, with stouter and more Gull-like bill and 

 body, and shortish tail. 



2nd. — River Terns, with slender bodies, and long forked tails. 



3rd. — Sea Terns, with very long wings and forked tail, and 

 yellow bill. 



4th. — Oceanic Terns and Noddies, with more or less black 

 plumage; and 5thly, Skimmers (Rhynchops.) 



