TOTIPALMATE BIRDS, HERONS, STORKS 45 



a great pouch of a brilliant red colour. This can be inflated, at the 

 will of the bird, until it rivals the rest of the body in size ! *' A dozen 

 or more of these birds sitting in a tree," says Dr. Andrews, of the 

 British Museum, '' with outstretched, drooping wings, and this great 

 scarlet bladder under their heads, is a most remarkable sight." 

 " When a hen bird," he continues, " approaches the tree, the males 

 utter a peculiar cry, a sort of * wow- wow- wow- wow,' and clatter their 

 beaks like castanets, at the same time shaking the wings." 



The Tropic Bird, or Boatswain Bird (Plate III. fig. 5), is a 

 native of the tropical portions of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, 

 and measures about 40 inches in length ; but this includes the long 

 tail, which has a length of about 26 inches. 



Altogether six species are known, of which three are American. 

 Tropic Birds are true denizens of the ocean, often being met with 

 many hundreds of miles from the land. Their flight is rapid and 

 sweeping. Like the Gannet, they procure their prey by diving, often 

 from an immense height, in the air. On land, as might be expected, 

 they are greatly at a disadvantage, and walk with a shuffling gait. 

 Though the majority of the species are white, with black pencillings, 

 one is remarkable for the exquisite orange colour of its plumage. 



THE HERON TRIBE 



While the birds which we have just described are all remarkable 

 for the shortness of their legs, the remaining types, to the description 

 of which we now pass, are as conspicuous from the great length of 

 their legs. In the matter of the shape of the beak they also differ, 

 for this is spear-shaped, though in this particular the Gannets 

 and Darters, and to a less extent the Tropic Birds, also agree. 



The difference in the length of the leg is explained by the fact that 

 the Herons and their near relations, which we shall consider pre- 

 sently, catch their prey by wading in shallow water, whereas the 

 birds which we have just described either procure their prey under 

 water, or capture it by plunging from a height. 



The Common Heron (Plate IV. fig. 4) is still to be met with in 

 Great Britain, on the streams and mud flats of secluded neighbour- 

 hoods ; but it is a very wary bird, and must be approached with great 

 caution. In the days of feudal England this bird was most strictly 



