506 WEB-FOOTED BIRDS. 



from whence, when surprised, they plunge directly into their more 

 natural element, swimming very deep, with the head only elevated 

 above the water, and instantly submerging that also on the least 

 alarm. When approached, they silently drop from the limbs of the 

 trees on which they usually perch in company, and sliding into the 

 water, reappear at a distance, transformed as it were into snakes, 

 for which the head when alone presented might easily be mistaken. 

 They feed on fish, which they catch by darting at them with their 

 sharp bill and long vibrating neck. They nest in trees and lay 8 or 

 more eggs. 



These singular birds are confined to the warm parts of both conti- 

 nents : and the species are only two. 



