BIRDS OF NEW YORK 



175 



Family KREOATIDAE 



Mait-o'-iuar Birds 



Characters. Steganopodes with long, straight beak hooked at the end ; 

 small jjoucli and feathered lores; tail long, forked, of 12 feathers; feet very 

 small, the middle toe long and pectinate. Frigate-birds have an expanse 

 of wing and power of flight which, in proportion to their size, surpasses all 

 other birds. The common name of this bird is derived from its swiftness 

 of flight and its habit of coursing around other birds and swooping down on 

 them to secure their prey. It is often seen soaring with motionless wings, 

 in the teeth of the gale, or circling almost out of sight in the air above the 

 gathering stomi. The speed and ease with which they snatch their prey 

 from the water, or rob the gulls and terns, is often marveled at by natural 

 history writers. 



Man-o'-war bird. Frisata aquila (Linnaeus), Oardiner Island specimen. .American Museum of Natural Hisfoi'y, 



Much reduced 



