1833.] 



THE SCISSOPt-HEAK- 



13: 



up this creek. It was very narrow, winding-, and deep ; on each 

 side a wall thirty or forty feet high, formed by trees intwined 

 with creepers, gave to the canal a singularly gloomy appearance. 

 I here saw a very extraordinary bird, called the Scissor-beak 

 (Rhynchops nigra). It has short legs, web feet, extremely long- 

 pointed wings, and is of about the size of a tern. The beak is 



flattened laterally, that is, in a plane at right angles to that of a 

 spoonbill or duck. It is as flat and elastic as an ivory paper- 

 cutter, and the lower mandible, differently from every other bird, 

 is an inch and a half longer than the upper. In a lake near 

 Maldonado, from which the water had been nearly drained, and 

 which, in consequence, swarmed with small fry, I saw several of 

 these birds, generally in small flocks, flying rapidly backwards 

 and forwards close to the surface of the lake. They kept their 

 bills wide open, and the lower mandible half buried in the 

 water. Thus skimming the surface, they ploughed it in their 

 course : the water was quite smooth, and it formed a most curious 

 spectacle to behold a flock, each bird leaving its narrow wake on 

 the mirror-like surface. In their flight they frequently twist 

 about with extreme quickness, and dexterously manage with their 

 projecting lower mandible to plough up small fish, which are 

 secured by the upper and shorter half of their scissor-like bills. 

 This fact I repeatedly saw, as, like swallows, they continued to 

 fly backwards and forwards close before me. Occasionally when 

 leaving the surface of the water their flight was wild, irregular, 

 and rapid ; they then uttered loud harsh cries. When these 

 birds are fishing, the advantage of the long primary feathers of 

 their wings, in keeping them dry, is very evident. When thus 

 employed, their forms resemble the symbol by which many artists 

 represent marine birds. Their tails are much used in steering 

 their irregular course. 



