ANHINGA OR SNAKE-BIRD. 139 
favourable localities. It is very seldom indeed that any are seen on 
rapid streams, and more especially on clear water, a single instance of 
such an occurrence being all that I have observed. Wherever you 
may chance to find this bird, you will perceive that it has not left it- 
self without the means of escape; you will never find one in a pond or 
bayou completely enclosed by tall trees, so as to obstruct its passage ; 
but will observe that it generally prefers ponds or lakes, surrounded by 
deep and almost impenetrable morasses, and having a few large trees 
growing out of the water near their centre, from the branches of which 
they can easily mark the approach of an enemy, and make their escape 
in good time. Unlike the Fish-hawk and Kings-fisher, the Anhinga 
however never plunges or dives from an eminence in procuring its 
prey, although from its habit of occasionally dropping in silence to the 
water from its perch, for the purpose of afterwards swimming about and 
diving in the manner of the Cormorant, some writers have been led to 
believe that it does so. 
The Black-bellied Darter, all whose names I shall use, for the pur- 
pose of avoiding irksome repetitions, may be considered as indefinitely 
gregarious ; by which I mean that you may see eight or more together 
at times, during winter especially, or only two, as in the breeding sea- 
son. On a few occasions, whilst in the interior of the southernmost 
parts of Florida, I saw about thirty individuals on the same lake. 
While exploring the St John’s River of that country in its whole length, 
I sometimes saw several hundreds together. I procured a great num- 
ber on that stream, on the lakes in its neighbourhood, and also on 
those near the plantation of Mr Buxow, on the eastern side of the Pe- 
ninsula. I observed that the young Darters, as well as those of the 
Cormorants, Herons, and many other birds, kept apart from the old 
individuals, which they however joined in spring, when they had at- 
tained their full beauty of plumage. 
The Anhinga is altogether a diurnal bird, and, like the Cormorant, 
is fond of returning to the same roosting place every evening about dusk, 
unless prevented by molestation. At times I have seen from three to 
seven alight on the dead top branches of a tall tree, for the purposé 
of there spending the night ; and this they repeated for several weeks, 
until on my having killed some of them and wounded others, the rest 
abandoned the spot, and after several furious contests with a party that 
