THE DARTER. 281 



The appearance of this bird announces, as we have said, that 

 the navigators have entered the torrid zone, as this bird rarely 

 goes beyond the limits of this region. It sometimes, however, 

 pushes out to sea to a distance of a hundred leagues. When they 

 are fatigued, aided by their large webbed feet, they rest upon the 

 waves. Like many other ocean birds, their peculiar organisation 

 prevents them settling from choice on the ground. They are, 

 therefore, compelled to skim continually over the water, in which 

 they feed upon the fish and mollusks, which form their principal 

 food. When they are on the shore, the immense spread of their 

 wings induces them to choose some elevated spot for a perch, such 

 as the top of a tree or the summit of a rock. Worn out by 

 fatigue, if they settle on the water, they are forced to wait until 

 they are lifted up on the crest of a wave before they can again 

 take flight. Their mode of flying is rather curious, for they com- 

 municate to their wings a kind of quivering motion, as if overcome 

 by exhaustion. 



These birds seek some remote and solitary islet for the purpose 

 of breeding. They build their nests in holes in lofty trees, or in 

 the clefts of rocks, but always in some position difficult of access. 

 They lay two or three eggs. The young ones, when just hatched, 

 owing to their dazzling- coloured down, bear a considerable 

 resemblance to powder-puffs. 



There are three species of the Phaeton the Red- tailed Phaeton 

 (Phaeton Phcenicurus), with white plumage, shaded with a light 

 rose-coloured tint, having the two long feathers of the tail of a 

 red hue. It inhabits the seas of India and Africa, Madagascar, 

 the Isle of France, and the Pacific Ocean. The White-tailed 

 Phaeton {Phaeton aether eus), with white plumage, with the two 

 long feathers in the tail white. It is a native of the Atlantic Ocean. 

 The Yellow-beaked Phaeton (Phaeton Jlavirostris) is distinguished 

 by the colour of its beak. It is a native of the islands of Bourbon 

 and Mauritius. 



THE DARTER (Anhinga). 



jinn., Klein, Scopoli. AT 

 tarter of English and Americj 



The Darter (Fig. 102) has a straight and pointed bill, with 



SYNONYMS. Plotus : Linn., Klein, Scopoli. Anhinga: Brisson, Tein- 

 minck. Darter of English and American writers. 



