PHAETONIDiE. 849 



Fishers — Attagenidee ; 4th, Swimming Fishers — Pelecanida; and 

 5th, Diving Fishers — Graculida. 



Fam. Phaetonid^. 



Bill somewhat as in the Terns, moderate, stout, straight, but 

 curved on the culmen, the margins finely dentated ; and the 

 nostrils pervious at all ages ; wings very long ; tail with the two 

 central feathers greatly elongated; tarsus very short; toes moderate, 

 webbed to the tip ; lower part of the tibia nude ; hallux short. 



The Tropic birds, or Boatswain-birds of Sailors, are well known 

 frequenters of all tropical regions of the Ocean, and are generally 

 seen throughout the Bay of Bengal flying about ships, and often 

 very far from land. They appear rarely to resort to the shore 

 except to breed, and they perch and nidificate on trees. They are 

 nearly related to the Gannets on one side, and on the other 

 perhaps to the Terns ; their flight is very rapid. 



Gen. Phaeton, Linnjeus. 

 Char. — Those of the family. 



996. Phaeton rubricauda, Boddaert. 



p. aethereus apud Blyth, Cat. 1 735 — P. phoenicurus, Gmelin 

 — Gould, Birds of Australia, VII, pi. 73. 



The Red-tailed Tropic-bird. 



Descr. — Silky-white, with a pink gloss ; a black crescentic mark 

 in front of and behind the eye ; the stem of the first primaries, 

 the middle of some of the tertiaries, some of the feathers of the 

 flanks, and the two lengthened central tail-feathers red, the latter 

 white at their base. 



The young bird has the whole upper surface with black, arrow- 

 shaped marks ; the first of the primaries black externally, and the 

 tertiaries chiefly black with a white border ; tail white, the stems 

 black at the base. 



Bill red ; feet red. Leno^th includino; the central tail-feathers 

 24 to 25 inches ; wing 12 to 14 ; outer tail-feathers 5 ; bill at front 

 2^ ; tarsus 1 ; middle toe If. 



PART II. 5 P 



