CLASS II. AVES: ORDER 8. NATATORES. 



339 



comes in sight ; it also attacks the boobies and other marine birds with such violence that they 

 are c;lad to yield their prey to their active assailant, and make their escape. 



THE MAN-OF-WAR BIRD. 



" The Frigate-Pelicans," says Nuttall, " associate in small or large flocks ; keep much on the 

 wing, encountering stonns with impunity, and soaring at times above the clouds. They fly with 

 great rapidity, and are seen far out at sea, though never resting on the surface, as they appear 

 unable either to dive or swim. On land they are seen perched on trees, or on high rocks ; and 

 when on the ground appear unable to rise, and are easily caught. They pursue the flymg-fish, 

 and seize it as it rises from the waves to escape from its pursuers in the deep. Tyrants of the 

 ocean, they even seize upon the Pelican, and habitually harass the Gulls and Boobies, compelling 

 them often to drop their finny prey, or even to disgorge that which they have swallowed, and 

 are so eager and alert in the pursuit, as to seize the fish before it arrives at the waves. Their 

 sight, like that of the Eagle, is keen and accurate, and they are often seen to pounce upon their 

 quarry from the sky with an unerring aim. They sometimes skim the surface of the waves, or 

 lie suspended with their wings still elevated above the back. 



" The Frigate Pelican, or Man-of-War Bird, is chiefly seen on the tropical seas, and generally 

 on the wing. They are abundant in the Island of Ascension, India, Ceylon and China. In the 

 South Sea they are seen about the Marquesas, Easter Isles and New Caledonia, also at Otaheite. 

 Darapier saw them in great plenty in the island of Aves in the West Indies, and they are com- 

 mon off the coast of East Florida, particularly around the reefs or keys, often assembled in flocks 

 of from fifty to a thousand. They are also not uncommon, during summer, along the coasts of 

 the Union as far as South Carolina, and breed in various places, retiring to warmer latitudes on 

 the approach of cool weather. 



"The Frigate-Bird is often seen smoothly gliding through the air, with the motions of a kite, 

 from one to two hundred leagues from the land, sustaining these vast flights with the greatest 

 apparent ease, sometimes soaring so high as to be scarcely visible. 



" They breed abundantly in the Bahamas, and are said to make their nests on trees, if near ; 

 at other times thev lav on the rocks ; the eggs, one or two, are of a flesh color, marked with 



