FAM. LVL TROPIC BIRDS 



313 



Length, 30; wing, lof (14-16i) ; tail, 8i ; tarsus, 1^; culmen, 3|. 

 Atlantic coast of tropical and subtropical America, north to Georgia in 

 summer. 



2. Gannet (117. Shla hassitna). — A white gannet, with yel- 

 lowish head and neck and nearly black primaries. Young, 

 mottled grayish- 

 brown above and 

 white on the breast 

 and belly, Avith gray- 

 ish-brown edges to the 

 feathers. The mot- 

 tlings of the back con- 

 sist of wedge-shaped 

 white spots on tin 

 feathers. (Solon 

 Goose.) 



Length, 36 ; wing, li' 

 (17-21); tail, 10; tarsus, 

 2 ; culmen, 4. Coasts of Gannet 



the North Atlantic ; 



breeding in America from Xova Scotia northward, and wintering from 

 Virginia to the Gulf of Mexico. 



FAMILY LVL TROPIC BIRDS (PHAETHONTID^) 



A small family (3 species) of tropical, tern-like, marine 

 birds, with peculiarly elongated central tail feathers. They 

 are graceful birds, capable of strong, rapid flight; sometimes 

 they are seen far from the coast, though usually found near 

 the shore. They live almost entirely on the Aving, and catch 

 their prey, which consists almost exclusively of fish, by drop- 

 ping suddenly down upon it from the air. 



1. Yellow-billed Tropic Bird (112. PhTethon flavirdstris). — 

 An exceedingly long-tailed, long-winged, white sea-bird, with 

 black on the outer quills and shoulder feathers of the Avings. 

 The shafts of the tail feathers are also black. Bill yellow and 

 tail feathers tinged with salmon. The young lacks the elon- 



