THE SNAKE BIRD. 



627 



Yellow-bill Tropic Bird (Phcetho/ijtavirostris) is a maritime bird, very abundant in 

 Bermuda, but not often seen on our coast, but is occasionally seen oil' Florida. The preceding 

 species is the Red-billed. 



The singular Darters 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." 



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LEVAILLANT'S DARTER, OR SXAKE-BIRD.-.P1V 



us levaiUianiii. 



Another species, Levaillant's Darter, or Snake-bird (Plotus levaillantii), is a native 

 of Africa, and its habits and general form resemble the preceding species. In the water it is 

 most agile, and can often dive at the flash of a gun and place itself in safety, by going under 

 water for a considerable distance in a direction where it was not expected, and then rising into 

 the air and living - off. 



The Snake-bird (Plotus anTtinga). This most remarkable bird inhabits Florida and the 

 Gulf States. Darter is another name. Its length is three feet, but the neck and tail are so 

 long the bird has a most snake-like appearance. 



