LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN PETRELS AND PELICANS. 313 



distance that, just as it seems as if it must plunge like a falling arrow 

 into the water, it checks its momentum with a marvelous twist of its 

 great wings and lightly picks up the morsel from the surface with its 

 bill without wetting a feather. It indulges in some startling, playful 

 antics in the air, performs much of its courtship on the wing, and 

 caresses its mate as gracefully in mid-air as on the ground. It strikes 

 terror into its victim by darting a.t him at such speed that it is useless 

 for him to attempt to escape; over, under, and around him at will, 

 as if playing with his powers of flight; it is mere sport for the 

 man-o'-war, the swift frigate, to overtake the fastest flier, and when 

 the poor victim drops its fish, the frigate bird quickly catches it and, 

 perhaps, tosses it in the air, drops and catches it again as if it en- 

 joyed the game. 



While soaring, either in a calm or in the teeth of a howling gale, 

 the long tail feathers are held parallel and close together, and are 

 moved only slightly to steer or balance the bird, but when fighting in 

 the air, as the males often do, or when courting or playing they are 

 frequently opened and closed like a pair of scissors. The man-o'- 

 war-birds' wings have been developed at the expense of its feet, 

 which are very small and weak; it can hardly stand upon them, and 

 can hardly walk ; it never dives and is a very poor swimmer ; it be- 

 comes wet and helpless in the water. But in the air it is a past 

 master. 



Harsh grating cries indulged in by fighting males, a clucking note 

 heard during the mating season, and a rough croak are about the 

 only sounds made by these birds as they are usually silent. The 

 3"oung birds are often quite noisy in the rookeries. 



Enough has already been said above about the behavior of the 

 man-o'-war-bird toward other species, by whom it is justl}^ dreaded 

 and cordially hated. But it is apparentlj'^ sometimes moved by un- 

 selfish motives toward birds of its own species, as the following 

 incident, related by Mr. A. W. Anthony (1898a) seems to illustrate: 



At a considerable distance from tlie colony a bird was found that was 

 unable to fly, and thinking that it had been recently injured, and must neces- 

 sarily starve, where food was not easily obtained by even the best of flyers, 

 I killed the cripple and made an examination of its injuries. One wing was 

 withered and useless; evidently the bird had never enjoyed its use, though it 

 was fat and its stomach was well filled with flying fish. Those who know 

 the feeding habits of Fregata need not be told that all their food is obtained 

 on the wing, and a bird deprived of the use of its wings would speedily starve 

 if not fed by its fellows. The precipitous sides of San Benedicte also made 

 it impossible for a man-o'-war-bird to gain the top of the island if deprived 

 of its wings. So it was quite evident that the pensioner had never left the 

 island, but had been dependent on the bounty of its fellows all of its life. 

 From its excellent condition it was evident that even in that busy community 

 of thousands some of them found time to feed the unfortunate. 



