Birds. 3081 



poised in mid-air, his wings expanded but motionless, his dark 

 piercing eye directed to the waters beneath, and watching with eager 

 gaze the movements of their scaly inhabitants ; and now, as one of 

 them would ever and anon come sufficiently near to the surface, 

 making his attack upon them in the manner so thoroughly taught him 

 by nature. Quick as thought he closed to his side his outspread 

 pinions ; turned off his equilibrium with a movement almost imper- 

 ceptible ; and with a seeming carelessness, threw himself headlong 

 into the deep with so great rapidity that the eye could with difficulty 

 keep pace with the descent. In the least space of time he would be 

 seen sitting on the water, and swallowing his prey. This being ac- 

 complished, he again mounted up into the air. He halts in his pro- 

 gress. Something has caught his eye. He lets himself down ; but it 

 is only for a little way, for his expected prey has vanished from his 

 sight. Once more he soars aloft on lively wing ; and having attained 

 a certain elevation, and hovering kestrel-like for a little with quick 

 repeated strokes of his pinions, he rapidly descends. Again, how- 

 ever, his hoped-for victim has made its escape ; and he bounds away 

 in an oblique direction, describing a beautiful curve as he arises 

 without having touched the water. Back he came to the very same 

 spot, chagrined as it would seem at his disappointment, and instantly 

 made a plunge. Immediately, however, he emerged again, having 

 been unsuccessful in his dive.* Soon after he winged his way nearer 

 and nearer to the beach : onwards he advanced with zigzag flight, 

 when suddenly, as if struck down by an unseen hand, he dropped 

 into the water within about thirty yards of the place where I was 

 standing. As he righted and sat on the bosom of the deep, I was in 

 this manner enabled distinctly to perceive, that he held in his bill a 

 little scaly captive which he had snatched from its home, and which 

 struggled violently to regain its liberty. Its struggles were in vain : 

 a few squeezes from the mandibles of the bird put an end to its ex- 

 istence. Being now within my reach, I stood prepared for the 

 moment when he should again arise. This he did so soon as the fish 

 was despatched. I fired, and he came down with a broken wing, 

 screaming as he fell into the water. The report of the gun together 

 with his cries brought the party which he had left, in order that they 



* The tern is by no means uniformly successful when it makes a plunge into the 

 water. This I have ascertained from having dissected one which I killed early in the 

 morning, after having seen him make five successive plunges. There was nothing in 

 his stomach save two sanlins, that is, two young sandeels {Ammoclytcs Lanced). These 

 were entire, being only a little bruised. 



IX. P 



