138 ANHINGA OR SNAKE-BIRD. 
coast. I have found it in Texas in the month of May, on the waters 
of Buffalo Bayou, and the St Jacinto River, where it breeds, and 
where, as I was told, it spends the winter. It rarely ascends the Mis- 
sissippi beyond the neighbourhood of Natchez, from which most of the ~ 
individuals return to the mouths of that great stream, and the nume- 
rous lakes, ponds, and bayous in its vicinity, where I have observed the 
species at all seasons, as well as in the Floridas. 
Being a bird which, by its habits, rarely fails to attract the notice 
of the most indifferent observer, it has received various names. The 
Creoles of Louisiana, about New Orleans, and as far up the Mississippi 
as Pointe Coupé, call it “‘ Bec 4 Lancette,” on account of the form of its 
bill; whilst at the mouths of the river it bears the name of ‘ Water 
Crow.” In the southern parts of Florida, it is called the ‘* Grecian 
Lady,” and in South Carolina it is best known by the name of “ Cor- 
morant.” Yet in all these parts, it bears also the name of “ Snake- 
Bird ;” but it is nowhere with us called the ‘ Black-bellied Darter,” 
which, by the way, could only be with strict propriety applied to the 
adult male. 
Those which, on the one hand, ascend the Mississippi, and, on the 
other, visit the Carolinas, arrive at their several places of resort early 
in April, in some seasons even in March, and there remain until the 
beginning of November. Although this bird is occasionally seen in 
the immediate vicinity of the sea, and at times breeds not far from it, 
I never met with an individual fishing in salt water. It gives a de- 
cided preference to rivers, lakes, bayous, or lagoons in the interior, al- 
ways however in the lowest and most level parts of the country. The 
more retired and secluded the spot, the more willingly does the Snake- 
Bird remain about it. Sometimes indeed I have suddenly come on 
some in such small ponds, which I discovered by mere accident, and 
in parts of woods so very secluded, that I was taken by surprise on 
seeing them. The Floridas therefore are peculiarly adapted for this 
species, as there the torpid waters of the streams, bayous, and lakes, 
are most abundantly supplied with various species of fish, reptiles, and 
insects, while the temperature is at all seasons congenial, and their 
exemption from annoyance almost unparalleled. Wherever similar 
situations occur in other parts of the Southern States, there the An- 
hingas are met with in numbers proportioned to the extent of the 
