38 THE WORLD'S BIRDS. 



Food. — Surface fish, young turtles, etc. ; they force 

 other sea-fowl to disgorge fish, and devour the 

 young of these, and even each other's offspring. 



Gait. — A very feeble walk ; they usually only perch, 

 and very seldom settle on water, though able to 

 swim. 



Flight. — Probably the strongest among birds ; they 

 sail for long periods on motionless wings or execute 

 magnificent swoops ; in flight they carry the neck 

 drawn in. 



Note. — A scream or a cackling sound. 



Disposition and Habits. — They are thoroughly 

 piratical, but sociable ; they are practically aerial, 

 not aquatic, though always on the sea-coast. 



Economic Qualities. — They are eaten in some places, 

 and found to be good. 



Captivity. — They have not often been kept, but one 

 species (F. aquila) has lived a long time in the 

 London Zoo, though requiring to be fed by hand 

 all the time. In some Pacific islands they are often 

 hand-reared and semi-domesticated, flying at large 

 and coming home to roost. 



Distribution and Species. — Tropical seas, but only 

 breeding locally, on remote islands as a rule. There 

 are only two species, the Large Frigate-Bird 

 {Fregata aquila), widely distributed round the 

 world, and the Small Frigate-Bird {F. ariel), which, 

 in addition to its smaller size, has a white flank- 

 patch in the male, and white collar in the female. 

 It is confined to the Indian and Pacific oceans. 



Frogmouths or Moreporks {PodargidcB). 



Diagnosis. — Perching birds, with wide short hills, short 

 wings, and short shanks, with the hinder toe smallest. 

 Size. — From that of a rook to that of a thrush. 



