124 lOOLOGY. 



British Ornithology^ vol. 2. This genus is divisible into such 

 as have the edges of thek bills smooth and cultrated, and 

 such as have the edges serrated; the comnior* Shag is an 

 example of the former, and the Selaa Goose of the latter. 



16. Phceton. Tropic-Bird. Bill shar^-edged, strait-point- 

 ed ; gape extending behind the eyes ; nostrils obJo'ig ; 

 hind toe inclining forwards, all the toes webbed. 



A genus, which is principally confined within the tropics ; 

 they feed on fish ; are sometimes seen in numbers on the 

 backs of whales and porpoises, as they lie asieep on the 

 surface of the water, are all very shy, rarely appearing on 

 land but during the breeding season ; have been seen from 

 fifty to one hundred and fifty leagues from any known land, 

 or rock. 



17. Plotus. Darter. Bill strait, pointed, toothed; nos' 

 frits situated near the base, being a long, narrow, per- 

 vious slit; face and chin naked; legs short; feet 

 webbed, the toes being all connected. 



All these birds possess a small head, and a long, slender, 

 retractile neck ; they principally inhabit southern climates, 

 and feed on fish, which they pierce with their long pointed 

 bills ; they have acquired the name of Darter, from the prac- 

 tice of darting their heads forward when in pursuit of prey. 



In the families above enumerated, a great variety of forms, 

 uses, and dispositions, are observable, but all tending in a 

 greater or lesser degree to the harmony of nature ; each 



