278 DUCKS, GEESE, SWANS, AND PELICANS. 



Their sight is so piercing that, at a distance far beyond that 

 which would render them invisible to us, they can perceive the 

 flio^hts of Exocceti, or Flving^ Fish. From their elevated situa- 

 tion, they dart down upon their winged prey, which has relin- 

 quished its native element ; and, keeping their neck and feet in 

 a horizontal position, and thus grazing the waves, they grasp 

 their victim, which little expected to meet with an enemy in the 

 element which it sought for safety. It is no unusual thing for it 

 to rob the Gannet of the fish which it has just caught : the unfor- 

 tunate bird thus acts as purveyor to this sea-robber. 



The Frigate Bird is of such a combative temperament, and has 

 such an unbounded confidence in its strength, that it is not afraid 

 to defy even man. It has been known to dash at a sailor, and to 

 snatch at the fish which he held in his hand. M. de Kerhoent, 

 a French navigator, relates that, during a residence at the Island 

 of Ascension, a perfect cloud of Frigate Birds surrounded his 

 crew. They hovered about, a few feet above the coppers of the 

 open-air kitchen, in order to carry off the meat, without being 

 intimidated in the least by the presence of his followers. Some of 

 them ajjproached so near that M. de Kerhoent knocked down' 

 one of the impudent intruders with a blow of his stick. 



When these birds have thoroughly feasted on fish, or any other 

 of the marine creatures which constitute their food, they take 

 flight landwards, and proceed to perch upon a tree, in order to 

 digest their food in peace. 



They assemble in large flocks on the islands where they are 

 accustomed to breed. In the month of May they begin to repair 

 their old, or construct new nests. They pluck off small dry branches 

 with their beaks, and with these pieces of stick crossed and re- 

 crossed a foundation is formed. These nests are suspended from 

 trees which hang over the water, or are placed on rocks in desert 

 islands, overhanging the sea ; in them they lay two or three 

 eggs, said to be of a carnation colour dotted with crimson. 



These birds are common in the Brazils, in the Island of Ascen- 

 sion, at Timor, the Ladrone Islands, and the Moluccas : in fact, 

 they are to be found in most troj)ical countries. Navigators, struck 

 with the lightness of their flight and their slender shape, have given 

 them the name they bear, thus comparing them with the fleetest 



