970 



S YS TEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — S TE GA NOPODES. 



loTijrer than outer, its claw pectinate. The feet are thus unique among water-birds in externals ; 



the"'tarso-metatarsus recalls that of Penguins to some extent. Bulk of body slight compared 



^, with the great length of wings 



-.-^^ -y^^ _ and tail. Here only in this or- 



^ - >j;. der is found the os tmcinatum, 



a peculiar skull-bone occurring 

 in nearly all Petrels, the Tu- 

 racous (Musophagid(S), and 

 many Cuckoos; and here only 

 the stomach develops no pyloric 

 cavity. Coeca 2, very small. 

 Sternum very broad for its 

 length, with posterior border 

 entire; furculum firmly anchy- 

 losed both with .sternal keel 

 and with coracoids, which latter 

 ; are also soldered with scapulae. 

 - The sacrococcygeal vertebrte 

 develop continuous transpro- 

 cesses ; the ilia are discrete in 

 their preacetabular extent. 

 Femorocaudal and ambiens 

 present ; accessory femorocau- 

 dal, semitendinosus, and its ac- 

 cessory absent. The pterylosis 

 is of the Cormorant type, but 

 the pterylae are much less 

 densely feathered. 



Frigates are maritime and 

 pelagic birds of most warm 

 parts of the globe. Their gen- 



F.G. 680. - Frigate, with Tropic Bird in the distance. (From Michelet.) ^^^^ contOUr is Unique among 



water-birds, in the immense length and sweep of wing, length of forked tail, and extreme 

 smallness of feet. In command of wing they are unsurpassed ; few birds approach them in 

 this respect. They are more nearly independent of 

 land than any other birds excepting Albatrosses and 

 Petrels, being often seen hundreds of miles at sea, 

 and delight to soar at an astonishing elevation. 

 They cannot dive, and scarcely swim or walk ; food 

 is procured by dashing down on wing with unerring 

 aim, and by harassing Gulls, Terns, and other less 

 active or weaker birds until these are forced to dis- 

 gorge or drop their prey. Their habit is gregarious, 

 especially during the breeding season, when thou- 

 sands congregate to nest in trees or bushes by the 

 water's edge, or on bare rocks. The nest is a very 

 slight, shallow structure of sticks ; eggs 1-3 in num- 

 ber, white, with thick smooth shell. The young are 

 covered with fluffy white down, like puff'-balls, and look at first as if they had no feet. " They 

 are fed by regurgitation, but grow tardily, and do not leave the nest until they are able to 

 follow their parents on wing." The following is the only genus : 



Fig. CSl. - Gular pouch of Frigate. 



