popular Sicttonavi? of Slmnmtrtr gtatur*. 241 



body are brown, the feathers lighter on their 

 margins ; the wing-coverts and the upper 

 ones of the tail are brown, their edges rufous: 

 the chin is white, and the rest of the under 

 parts bright yellow : quills and tail brown. 



PARADISE FLYCATCHER. (Afuscipeta Pa- 

 rndisi.) A singular bird, measuring upwards 



of twenty inches long, owing 



ring 

 to its 



dispro- 



feet ; but I have known them come on board 

 at a height of fourteen feet and upwards ; 

 and they have been well ascertained to come 

 into channels of a line-of-battle ship, which 

 is considered as high as twenty feet and 

 upwards. But it must not be supposed they 

 have the power of elevating themselves in 

 the air after having left their native element; 

 for, on watcliing them, I have often seen 

 them fall much below the elevation at which 



:ong, 



portioned tail, which is generally about 

 fourteen inches. Its head, hind part of the 

 neck, and throat, are greenish black ; the 

 feathers on the former are very long, and 

 form a crest : the back, rump, wing-coverts, 

 and tail-feathers are white ; the greater 

 coverts and quills black, fringed with white; 

 the fore part of the neck, and all the under 

 parts of the body, pure white ; tail cunei- 

 form ; legs ash-coloured. This bird is found 

 in the southern parts of Africa, frequenting 

 the borders of rivers, where its insect food is 

 nost abundant. 



SWALLOW-TAILKD FLYCATCHER. (Mvtti- 



voraforficatn.') This bird, whose distinctive 



appellation is derived from its forked tail, is J fins, and in this manner continue their 

 ten inches in length, of which the tail forms flights for several hundred yards, often pur- 

 one half. The colour of the beak is black ; ! mtd by marine birds in the element to 

 the head and back are light grey, slightly which they are driven for protection against 

 tinged with red ; the under parts of the body 



sefromthe watebut neveMn 

 non e instance could I observe them rise 

 from the height nt which they first sprang ( 

 for I regard the elevation they first take to 

 depend on the power of the first spring or 

 leap they make on leaving their native ele- 

 ment." 



In tropical seas the Flying-fish rise from 

 water in flocks, or, more properly, shoals, of 

 hundreds at a time, when disturbed by the 

 passing of a ship, or pursued by their invete- 

 rate foe, the dolphin. They spring from the 

 crest of a wave, and, darting forward, plunge 

 nto another, to wet the membrane of the 



white ; beneath the wing red ; the wing- 



ing- 



coverts ash-colour ; ami the quills blnck, 

 edged with gray. It inhabits Mexico. 



[See 



TYUANXUS: RHIPIDUUAS ONYCIIOKHYNCUS.] 



FLYING-FISH. (Exocetus.) By the 

 extraordinary length and size of their pec- 

 toral fins, the fishes of this genus are enabled 

 to spring occasionally from the water, and 

 to support a kind of temporary flight through 

 the air : hence their name. It is evident, 

 however, that their " flights" are chiefly per- 

 formed for the purpose of escaping from the 

 jaws of the dolphin, and other predaceous 

 fishes, which are constantly pursuing them. 

 Mr. Gosse, in his admirably graphic "Natu- 

 ralist's Sojourn in Jamaica"," has shown that 



they can (Mrcct and change their flight. The 

 following account cannot, therefore, be en- 

 tirely depended on : " I have never," observes 



Mr. (I. Bennett, the author of ' Wanderings 

 in New South \Yulcs,' "been able to see any 



percussion of the pectoral flns during flight, 

 and the greatest length of time I have seen 

 this volatile fish on the fin has been thirty 

 seconds by the watch, and their longest 

 flight mentioned by Captain Hall has been 

 200 yards ; but he thinks that subsequent 

 observation has extended the space. The 

 most usual height of flight, as seen above 

 the surface of the water, is from two to three 



the tyrants of their own Gardner, in his 

 'Travels in Bra/il,' confirms Humboldt's 

 assertion, (denied by Cuvicr,) that the Fly- 

 ing-fish uses its pectoral flns as wings during 

 the time it remains above water. 



The distinguishing characters of the gcnua 

 are pectoral fins nearly equal to the body 

 in length ; head flattened above and 011 the 

 fides ; the lower part of the body furnished 

 with a longitudinal series of carinated scales 

 on each side ; dorsal fin placed above the 

 anal : eyes large ; jaws furnished with small 

 pointed" teeth. There are but very few of 

 the genus. 



The MEDITERRANEAN FLYING-FISH (_Exo- 

 cetus exiliens) runs from ten to fifteen inches 

 in length, its general shape resembling that 

 of a herring : the head is rather large, and 

 sloping pretty suddenly in front ; the eyes 

 large, and of a silver colour, with a cast of 

 gold ; the scales are large, thin, and rounded ; 

 and the whole fish is of a bright silvery cast, 

 with a blue or dusky tinge on the upper 

 part. The pectoral fins are of a sharply 

 lanceolate form, and extend as far as the 

 beginning of the tail ; the dorsal and anal 

 fins are shallow, and placed opposite each 

 other near the tail, which is deeply forked 

 with sharp-pointed lobes, the lower being 

 nearly twice the length of the upper ( the 

 ventral fins, which are rather large and long, 

 are situated behind the middle of the body. 



OCEANIC FLYING-FISH. (Exocetus voli- 

 tans.) This species is somewhat more slen- 

 der, and the head less sloping than the pre- 

 ceding, though from its general resemblance 

 it might be easily mistaken for it ; but the 

 principal difference arises from the ventral 

 fins being seated near the pectoral ones, and 

 from their being much smaller and of a 

 slightly lunated form. This species is of a 



iligl 



bright silver colour, gradually deepenin 

 into purplish brown on the back, the dorsa 

 and anal yellowish, and the ventral fins and 



ing 

 rsal 



