FEMALE DARTER, OR SNAKE BIRD. 253 



290. PLOTUS MELANOGASTER, WILSON. 



FEMALE BLACK-BELLIED DARTER, OR SNAKE BIRD.* 



WILSON, PLATE LXXIV. FIG. II. EDINBURGH COLLEGE MUSEUM. 



THE female darter measures three feet five inches in 

 length, and differs in having the neck before of a roan 

 colour or iron gray, the breast the same, but lighter, 

 and tinged with pale chestnut; the belly as in the male; 

 where the iron gray joins the black on the belly there 

 is a narrow band of chestnut ; upper head and back of 

 the neck, dark sooty brown, streaked with blackish.; 

 cheeks and chin, pale yellow ochre ; in every other 

 respect the same as the male, except in having only a 

 few slight tufts of hair along the side of the neck ; the 

 tail is twelve inches long to its insertion, generally 

 spread out like a fan, and crimped like the other on the 

 outer vanes of the middle feathers only. 



The above is a description of the supposed female 

 darter, which is preserved in Peale's museum. 



The author having written to Mr John Abbott of 

 Georgia, relative to this species, and some others, 

 received from this distinguished naturalist a valuable 

 communication, from which the following extract is 

 made : " Both the darters I esteem as but one species. 

 I have now by me a drawing of the male, or black- 

 bellied, only, but have had specimens of both at the 

 same time. I remember that the upper parts of the 

 female were similar to those of the male, except that 

 the colour and markings were not so pure and distinct; 

 length, thirty -six inches, extent, forty-six. These birds 

 frequent the ponds, rivers, and creeks, during the 

 summer ; build in the trees of the swamps, and those 

 of the islands in the ponds ; they construct their nests 

 of sticks ; eggs of a sky blue colour. I inspected a nest, 

 which was not very large ; it contained two eggs and 

 six young ones, the latter varying much in size ; they 



* This article was written by Mr Ord. 



