TROPIC-BIRDS 



89 



ever displayed by the great bird of the Ancient Mariner. It often follows ships for long 

 distances, and is called by seamen the " Boatswain " or " Boatswain-bird," terms which 

 sailors apply also to the Jaegers. Like many birds of great flight power, the Tropic-bird has 

 a clumsy, shuffling gait on shore. 



The food of the Tropic-bird consists chiefly of fish, squids, and the like, which are taken 

 by diving from the wing. Its only note is a harsh croak or chatter. It breeds in colonies, 

 and no nest is built. The single reddish-brown or bufTy egg, more or less speckled with 

 brown, purple, or gray, is laid in a hole or a crevice, or sometimes in a tree cavity, and incuba- 

 tion is shared by the pair. The bird engaged in this operation is not easily dislodged, but 

 resists the intruder by pecking, snapping, and screaming. This spirit is taken advantage of 

 by plumage collectors, who seize the sitting bird and pull out its tail-feathers to be used in 

 " decorating " women's hats. 



YELLOW-BILLED TROPIC-BIRD 

 Phaethon americanus Grant 



A. O. U. .Xuinber 1 12 



Other Names. — Boatswain ; Boatswain-bird ; Bosen- 

 bird ; Longtail. 



General Description. — Length, 32 inches. Prevailing 

 color, white. 



Color. — .\dult : General plumage, pure wliitc: in 

 breeding season tinged with rosy on under parts and 

 long tail-feathers ; lores, a stripe over and behind eye, 

 and on side of head, black; a band on wing from inner 

 coverts to inner secondaries, outer primaries, and shafts 

 of tail-feathers, black; bill qnd feet, vellow ; toes, black; 



iris, (lark brown. Young: Plumage, similar, but ex- 

 tensively marked with black bars or crescents on most 

 of upper parts and with spots on tail. 



Nest and Eggs. — The single egg, chalky-white 

 heavily spotted with brown, is laid in crevices or cran- 

 nies of rocks on isolated sea islands. 



Distribution. — Florida and Bermuda south to the 

 West Indies and the Atlantic coast of Central America; 

 accidental in western New York, Nova Scotia, and 

 .■\rizona. 



Ima,£;ine to }-ourself a beautiful Dove with 

 two central tail-feathers sweeping out behind to 

 a distance of a foot and a half, and you will have 

 a fairly correct mental picture of the Tropic- 

 bird. As I have watched this creature from the 

 deck of a steamer in the Caribbean Sea, or in the 

 Pacific Ocean, and observed its exquisite form 

 and grace, 1 have more than once vowed to my- 

 self that here indeed is the most appealing, if not 

 the most graceful, of all birds on the sea. The 

 plumage is silky white, with just enough black on 

 the wings and head to emphasize the dazzling 

 glory of the whole effect. They fly rapidly, and 

 while feeding wing their way along over the 

 water at an altitude of forty or fifty feet. " Long- 

 tails " is one of the names by wliich sailors know 

 them. 



The Yellow-billed TrojMC-bird is an inhabitant 

 of the coasts of tropical America and the nearby 

 islands. Tbe northernmost breeding grounds 

 appear to be the rocky cliffs of the Bermuda 

 Islands. Here up to a few years ago they came 

 in spring by thousands to rear their young and 

 would remain in tJic neighboring waters until the 



approach of cold weather would drive them again 

 to the southward. They are not particularly 

 popular with fishermen here, who complain that 

 they eat many squids which should be left for 

 men who want to use such bait when they desire 

 to go angling. The nest is placed in holes and 

 cracks of the rocky faces of the islands and 

 sometimes among the low scrubby trees and 

 bushes higher on shore. 



As only a single egg appears to be laid in a 

 season it will easily be seen that no great amount 

 of persistent killing of the birds is necessary to 

 reduce their numbers. Unless a sentiment is 

 rapidly developed for their protection on these 

 islands, the " Bosen-birds." as they are often 

 called, will probably cease to grace these waters 

 and line of the islands' natural beauties will be 

 gone forever. 



Writing in Bird-Lore in 191 3. Karl Plath tells 

 of the movements of the Tropic-birds on land as 

 he watched them in the Bermuda Islands : 



" One of the noticeable features of the Tropic- 

 bird is its inability to walk upright or to stand on 

 its legs; a f;ict which is not generally understood 



