FISHING OF PLOTUS 



worthy, however, that the darter cannot suffer much 

 from the pangs of indigestion ; for when the lining of 

 the stomach gets somewhat defective it is simply shed 

 en bloc, and a new one provided. This convenient 

 method of restoring an impaired and dyspeptic stomach 

 is at least not common in the animal world. The like- 

 ness of the darter to the cormorant is not deceptive, and 

 it is more than skin deep. There is no doubt that it 

 belongs to the same assemblage of birds as are 

 characterized by their webbed feet, the webbing in- 

 cluding the " big toe," or hallux to be more technical 

 in diction. They are all fish eaters, but the darter 

 seems to be unique among them for the way in which 

 it pursues what in journalese would be termed its 

 finny prey. Plotus swims and dives with extreme 

 facility and rapidity. Its movements under water are 

 as apt as those upon the surface, and as a consequence 

 the bird has no difficulty in catching its prey, which 

 it transfixes with the very sharply pointed beak. Ris- 

 ing to the surface it then tosses the fish into the air 

 and neatly catches it as it descends. In order the more 

 effectively to retain its hold upon the slippery and 

 newly caught fish, the beak of the darter is furnished 

 with minute denticulations directed backwards. 

 Plotus, when on land and at rest, is seen to have an 

 eagerly bent neck craning forwards as if on the look- 

 out. This impression is produced by a kink in the 

 neck, due to a sudden change in the direction of the 

 several vertebrae after a certain point. The muscular 

 mechanism attached to the kinked part enables the 

 beak to be shot out forwards with great velocity, and 

 is the means whereby the darter spears its prey. When 

 swimming as opposed to diving beneath the waves, 

 the darter closely resembles the cormorant ; for its 

 long neck appears above the water while the body is 

 nearly completely submerged. 



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