NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



submerged, its head and long neck in sight Hke some kind of a water ser- 

 pent — hence its name. The nest is placed on trees and bushes over water. 

 It is bulky and composed of sticks, leaves and moss and occasionally lined 

 with downy catkins of willow. It is usually deeply hollowed. Darter 

 and Water Turkey are its other names. 



Hab. Tropical and subtropical America, north to the Carolinas and the mouth of the Ohio. 



650. Gannet — sula bassana. Greenish-blue, covered with a calca- 

 reous deposit ; one egg is laid ; size about 3.00 by 2.00, with variations. 

 The White Gannet or Solan Goose breeds from Nova Scotia and the 

 British Islands northward. In particular places along the Atlantic coast, 

 during the breeding season, it is found in thousands. One place is "Gannet 

 Rock," in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is a bird of large size, pointed 

 bill and general white colors, and it has somewhat the appearance of a 

 goose. The nest is made of sea-weed and is placed on rocky cliffs. 



Hab. Coast of North Atlantic; south in winter to the Gulf of Mexico and Africa. 



652. Booby Gannet — sula leucogastra. Greenish-blue; one or 

 two (?) in number; size 2.50 to 1.75. The Booby is very abundant along 

 the coasts of the South Atlantic and Gulf States, congregating by thou- 

 sands at its breeding places along the low shores and islands. The general 

 plumage is dark brown ; from the neck below white. It is called Brown 

 Gannet. The nest is placed in bushes and is very bulky, composed of 



Sticks and weeds. Hab. Coasts of tropical and subtropical America, north to Georgia. 



654. Yellow-billed Tropic Bird — phaethon flavirostris. Chalky- 

 white, usually very thickly spotted with reddish-chocolate of varying 

 shades; one in number; oval in form, and measure from 2.15 to 2.25 

 long by 1.50 to 1.60 broad. This bird, whose general figure resembles 

 that of a large tern, is not uncommon on the Bahama Islands, where it 

 breeds, but is rare on the coast of Florida and Gulf coast. The general 

 plumage of the bird is white, tinged with salmon, and it has long tail 

 feathers. It is gregarious at all times, nesting in communities along coasts 

 and on islands, depositing the single egg usually in crevices of rocks. 



Hab. West Indies and Atlantic coast of Central America; north to Florida; accidental in Western 

 New York. 



655. Red-billed Tropic Bird — phaethon .ethereus. Eggs same as 

 those of the preceding. General habits the same. 



Hab. Coasts of tropical America, north on the Pacific coast to Lower California; accidental on the New- 

 foundland Banks. 



656. Black Skimmer — rhynchops nigra. White, spotted and blotched 

 rather coarsely with brown, blackish-umber, and lilac of varying shades, 

 with neutral- tint shell blotches; three or four in number; size from 1.65 



