77 ERIGATEBIRD These are large black tropical sea-birds given to piracy. Their food principally consists of fish snatched from other fishing birds like Pelicans, Gannets, Cormorants, or Terns. They are the most aerial of birds except the Swifts. No Indian name is recorded for them but their habits remind one of the Hindi name gear (robber) for a "kind of bird" and Sanskrit er as one of the names for a Crow. Like other sea-birds without specific names this too would go by the general name of समुद्रकाक or समुद्र- लुष्टाक. 78 PETRELS Petrels are, with some exceptions, the smallest of sea-birds about the size of the Common Myna and despite their fragile appearance they have wonderful powers of flight and are perfectly at home at sea in the wildest storm. They have slender but long legs and webbed feet, and, when feed- ing, pat the water with their feet, springing along the surface in a series of hops with wings outspread. I know of no Indian name for them but Sanskrit would be as good for them as for the Gulls.
