202 BIRDS OF THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 



It was a most singular spectacle: thousands and thousands of these 

 great, and ordinarily wild birds, covered the whole surface of the 

 prickly-pears as they sat on their nests, or darkened the air as they 

 hovered over them, so tame that they would hardly move on being 

 touched ; indeed, the specimens that I procured were all taken alive, 

 with my own hands. When I had penetrated as far among them as 

 possible, I fired my gun ; the whole colony rose at once, and the 

 noise made by their long and powerful wings striking against each 

 other was almost deafenino-. In a moment thev commenced settlinsf 

 upon their nests, and were soon as cjuiet as before. Incubation is 

 carrie^I on by both male and female. The old ones feed the young 

 at first by regurgitation. The food consists of the same species of 

 fish as the Booby's, and is principally derived from that bird, whom 

 they rob as the Bald Eagle does the Fish Hawk. Why the Booby 

 should submit to this, being much more powerful and armed with a 

 most formidable bill, is strange. I have watched these birds for 

 hours while flying, and every now and then hovering over the sur- 

 face of the water, but never saw them catch a fish. The popular 

 idea at the Bahamas is, that the fish are stupefied by the excrement 

 of this bird. If there is any foundation for this idea, I presume it is 

 that the fish are attracted by it ; though the abundance of fish is 

 such, that one would think it hardly worth while to attract them in 

 any way. 



" The young are at first nearly naked, then covered with a white 

 down, and by the time they arc the size of a Pigeon have the bronzed 

 black scapulars so developed that they look, whilst sitting on their 



