254 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



their domain they make repeated but, of course, wholly in- 

 effective onslaughts upon the intruder. 



An Osprey {P. haliaetus carolinensis) was also noticed skirting 

 the coast, but he was evidently a wanderer, for he soon dis- 

 appeared towards the shadowy outline of the Venezuelan moun- 

 tains. 



Tobago, January 2nd, 1913. — A long, sweeping beach fringed 

 with a belt of coconut palms, and ending in a small head- 

 land supporting a few dilapidated shanties, is all that now 

 remains of Plvmouth and its harbour — the former capital of the 

 once prosperous sugar island of Tobago. But when we steamed 

 into Courland Bay about two o'clock this afternoon, I had no 

 eyes for these details, being fascinated by the vast numbers of 

 Pelicans that were to be seen — a seemingly interminable line of 

 birds, almost all of whom were busily engaged in fishing. As a 

 matter of fact, they were strung out for a mile or more along 

 the coast, keeping about thirty or forty feet from the shore, 

 where, it is to be presumed, the shoals of fish were cruising. 

 A few were resting — riding buoyantly on the water— but the 

 majority were on the wing, either flying back to the far end 

 of the bay, or fishing systematically up-wind in a kind of endless 

 procession. As they proceeded leisurely against the soft " trade " 

 breeze, the birds could be seen peering downwards, carefully 

 scrutinizing the water. Suddenly one — often two or three 

 together — would close its wings, turn over, and hurl itself, 

 Gannet-fashion, at its prey. Judging by the frequency of these 

 plunges, the bay must have been literally teeming with fish, for 

 sometimes as many as ten or a dozen splashes could be seen 

 instantaneously, and within quite a small compass. All this, of 

 course, was very interesting, but the remarkable feature of the 

 whole scene was the manner in which some Gulls (Larus atari- 

 cilia) were worrying and robbing the complacent Pelicans of 

 their booty. At points where these were diving oftenest, the 

 Gulls could be noted swimming idly about in twos and threes, 

 awaiting their opportunity. It was evident from the way they 

 always seemed to anticipate the splash that they were watching 

 the movements of the larger birds very closely. Thus before 

 the Pelican had time to come to the surface the Gulls had almost 

 invariably reached the spot, and were already hovering overhead. 



