BIRDS OF THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 133 
hind neck was white, without any mixture of brown; no difference 
was observed in the comparative measurements. I intended to have 
preserved it, but, unfortunately, before I was ready to skin it, the 
cook plucked it for his private table.” 
The food of this species appears to consist almost entirely of fish, 
which it shows great expertness in catching, 
according to some 
writers plunging entirely beneath the surface in pursuit of its prey. 
But although I have seen hundreds of birds of this species, and 
watched them at different times in the act of catching fish, I have 
never, in a single instance, seen them go entirely under water. The 
eggs are usually from two to three in number, although some writers 
claim that they sometimes lay four. 
Ris. Aud.) Bds) IN=Ay, Voll plas: 
