270 BOMBAY DUCKS 
There must be half a dozen of these fishermen which 
carry on their trade in the Pulicat Lake. The back- 
water at Ennore has also its complement of these 
magnificent birds. Seen as it rests on a pile marking 
the channel of the canal through the shallow lake, 
the bird may be easily mistaken for a large kite, its 
length being six or seven inches more than that of the 
common kite. Its head, breast, and lower parts are, 
however, white. There is a broad black bar running 
down each side of its neck. The back and wings are 
dark brown. But it is by its habits rather than its 
appearance that one recognizes the osprey. 
The fishing operations of the terns, or sea-swallows 
as they are sometimes called, fall rather flat after those 
of the raptorial bird. When a tern dives there is none 
of the mighty splash which marks the performance 
above described. The tern does its work so neatly 
that it enters the water with little more commotion 
than that made by a falling pebble. The tern is 
to the manner born. It comes of a long line of fisher- 
folk. 
For myriads of generations its ancestors have dived 
after their finny prey. The osprey, or fish-hawk as it is 
often called, is, on the other hand, a bird of prey which 
has taken to fishing. It is,so to speak, an amateur; 
exceeding skilled, it is true, but nevertheless, by com- 
parison with the sea-swallow, an amateur. One natur- 
ally expects to see a tern dive for its food, but to 
witness a great bird of prey tumble headlong into the 
water, like a falling boulder, takes one’s breath away. 
It is the great skill of the tern which causes its 
