350 EASTERN ETHIOPIA xxvin 



opposite direction to that of the spoonbill : it is thin 

 and elastic like a paper-knife, and the two halves come 

 together by their thin edges, but the lower half of the 

 bill projects beyond the upper at least one-third of its 

 length. During life the bill, except the terminal third 

 of the lower half, is like the colour of a ripe orange, but 

 it quickly fades after death to a dull yellow. 



The Skimmer is like a large tern (sea-swallow) : by 

 means of powerful wings it skims the surface of the 

 water usually as daylight fades, with its mouth wide 



The head of the Skimmer or Scissor-bill. It is a tax on credulity 

 to believe that this bill was designed for securing fish. 



open, but in such a way that the lower half ploughs the 

 water, and as shoals of small fish rise in the evening 

 hour the bird secures a meal. Darwin gives an 

 admirable description of the methods of this bird as he 

 observed it on the Eio Parana and at Monte Video in 

 1833 : " The water was quite smooth, and it formed a 

 curious spectacle to behold a flock (of scissor-beaks) 

 each bird leaving its narrow wake on the mirror-like 

 surface." 



The Scissor-bills are found in South and Central 

 America and Asia as well as in the Ethiopian Region. 

 Livingstone's attention was attracted to them on the 



