$6 OSBECK'S VOYAGE. 



white : the feathers which cover the head, 

 the upper part of the neck, the wings, and the 

 whole back, are all marked with black tranf- 

 verfal (tripes of the breadth of a pack-thread. 

 But the vent-feathers are fomewhat blacker : 

 the feven quill-feathers have black edges at the 

 extremities, and are white towards the iniide ; 

 but the fecondary ones are black in the middle, 

 With white tops : the coverts below the wings 

 are quite white : the wings are mort : the bill 

 is above two inches long, iharp, very narrow, 

 fomewhat inflected on the fides, and entirely 

 red: the jaws are almoil equal, though the 

 upper feems to be rather fhorter : the margins 

 are ferrated towards the infide, for the advan- 

 tage of holding their prey \ the noflrils, which 

 are almoft in the middle, between the point 

 of the bill and the eyes, are narrow, and end 

 in a little furrow towards the point of the 

 bill : the feathers hang down about the eyes : 

 a black ftripe runs down to the head from the 

 eyes : the feet are half naked and footy : the 

 back-toes are very fmall : two of the tail-fea- 

 thers are longer than the whole bird ; and, 

 like all the other tail-feathers, white, with 

 black fhafts. We faw thefe birds in feveral 

 places within the Tropics at an exceffive height, 

 often far from land ; and generally hovering 



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