[204]. Sterna melanogaster: The Black-bellied Tern. (F. 1504), (J. 987), (-III, but with a long, deeply forked tail.)
Head black (with some white after the moult at Christmas), abdomen black. Cheek, chin-throat, and wing lining white. Rest of plum, age grey, paler on the tail than on the back. Bill orange-yellow; legs and feet dull red.
One of the commonest of the terns, especially inland.
[205]. Sterna minuta: The Little Tern. (F. 1510), (J. 988), (-II.)
A tern not much bigger than a sparrow, with a white forehead and black head, white cheeks and lower parts, grey wings, dark red bill and legs, is probably this species.
It is fairly common in N. India; rare in the south.
[206]. Rhynchops albicollis: The Indian Skimmer, or Scissors-bill. (F. 1517), (J. 995), (-IV.)
A long-winged, tern-like bird, which flies about in little flocks a few inches above the surface of the water, with white forehead, tail, and lower parts, and a white collar round the neck; rest of upper plumage dark brown. Bill deep red; legs bright red. (Illus. F. IV., p. 296.)
The Pelicans, 207 and 208
Description of these well-known birds is superfluous, as every one knows what they look like.