THE MAN-O'-WAR BIRD. 627 



No. 312. 



MAN-O'-WAR BIRD. 



A. O. U. Xo. 128. Fregata aquila Linn. 



Synonym. — Frigate ; Frigate Pelican. 



Description. — Adult male : Entire plumage black, with metallic greenish 

 or purplish gloss on the lanceolate scapulars and interscapulars, duller on the 

 belly. Adult female : Duller black ; whitish below on breast and sides ; varied 

 by grayish brown on lesser wing-coverts, scapulars, etc., unmodified and less 

 metallic. Immature \ Like adult female but decidedly white below and on head. 

 Length about 40.00 (1016.); extent 7-8 feet; wing 25.00 (635.); tail, forked 

 for more than half its length, about 18.00 (457.2) ; bill 4.60 (116.8) ; tarsus about 

 1.00 (25.4). 



Recognition Marks. — Eagle size; black plumage; deeply forked tail and ex- 

 ceedingly slender build with great expanse of wing; small gular pouch. 



Nesting. — Does not breed in Ohio. Nests, of sticks, in colonies, on low 

 bushes or rocks, near the ocean. Eggs, one, pure white with chalky surface, oval 

 or elongated ovate. Av. size, 2.68 x 1.80 (68.1 x 45.7). 



General Range. — Tropical and subtropical coasts generally ; in America 

 north to Florida and Texas, and casually to Nova Scotia, Ohio, Wisconsin, 

 Kansas, and Humboldt Bay, California. 



Range in Ohio. — Accidental. One record : Fairfield County, spring of 1880, 

 by Emmett Adcock. 



IT was a piece of rare good fortune which discovered this oceanic species 

 so far inland, but it is strange, now that we think of it, that birds so marvel- 

 lously gifted in wing, do not oftener take a curious turn ashore. So far as 

 powers of flight are concerned, the Man-o'-War Bird stands easily at the head 

 of winged creation. Not only does it soar at such sublime heights as to 

 appear a mere speck against the sky, or to pass from sight altogether, but it 

 can launch itself from an almost incredible elevation to snatch a flying fish 

 in midair, or to seize some object just below the surface of the water. And 

 not only can the Frigate fly swiftly, but so perfectly has it learned to adjust it- 

 self to the wind, that it is able to maintain itself for hours at a time without 

 change of position and without apparent effort. 



The Man-o'-War Birds secure only a portion of their food by direct cap- 

 ture; for the rest they prey upon other birds, especially those equipped for 

 taking large catches of fish, wholesalers, as it were, like the Boobies and the 

 White Pelicans. It is difficult to see why a sturdy fisherman like the Gannet 

 should consent to share the product of its lawful toil with this pirate, but 

 Boobies are not the only bipeds who are overmastered by a sharp eye and 

 imperious gestures. . 



