DARTER. PZot 



The Tropic Bird breeds in the Mauritius. The young are odd little things, not 

 in the least resembling their parents, round as balls and covered with white down. 

 The flight of the Tropic Bird is of a rather peculiar jerking or shooting character. The 

 total length of the bird is about two feet six inches, of which the tail-feathers occupy 

 about fifteen inches. 



THE singular DARTEES are inhabitants of two parts of the world, one species inhabiting 

 Africa, and another being found in America. With their slender heads, their long snake- 

 like necks, and their evidently aquatic bodies, they really look as if they had been formed 

 on the same model as the well-known plesiosaurus. 



The common Darter inhabits many parts of America, and is found along the banks of 

 rivers and marshy grounds. Mr. Ord writes as follows of these birds : " The first 

 individual that I saw in Florida was making away to avoid me along the shore of a 

 reedy marsh, which was lined with alligators, and the first impression on my mind was 

 that I beheld a snake, but the recollection of the habits of the bird soon undeceived me. 

 To pursue these birds at such times is useless, as they cannot be induced to rise or even 

 to expose their bodies. 



