THE KII COAST. 129 



boldness of these birds, when they are not persecuted, 

 is very great. They used, for instance, to hunt the 

 water within easy shot, plunging in after their silvery 

 prey often not twenty yards from where I sat. On 

 capturing a fish, they would make off to some large 

 rocks, a couple of hundred yards away, returning again 

 in a very short time. Whether in a short flight or a 

 long one, these birds always carry the iish in their 

 talons, and always with the head of the fish pointed in 

 the same direction as their own, never crosswise or 

 tail first. I once saw one of these birds strike a fish 

 too large for it to lift, and a tremendous struggle for 

 a short time took place. I happened to be in a boat, 

 and nearly came up to the combatants before the osprey 

 let go his hold. 



After lunch, a few more pheasants, and as many 

 snipe as I pleased from the paddy-fields, which bordered 

 the small river flowing into the lagoon, besides several 

 shots at teal, would swell my bag considerably. As 

 the evening closed in, I generally finished up by wait- 

 ing for duck, as they flew in from the open water of the 

 lagoon to feed amongst the rice-fields in the valleys. 



The part of the coast outside Matoya harbour is 

 famous for a kind of sea-weed much esteemed by the 

 Japanese for food. It grows in about twelve feet of 



I 



