THS OAR-FOOTED SEA-FLIERS. 219 



THE OAR-FOOTED SEA-FLIERS (Steganopodes). 



The members of this order present but a very distant resemblance to the swimming birds described 

 in the preceding pages, from which they differ not only in the construction of their feet, but in their 

 general appearance and peculiar habits. 



The birds belonging to this division are characterised by having their body considerably 

 elongated, their neck of moderate length, the head small, and the wings long and rounded or very 

 long and pointed. The tail is variously constructed, but always peculiar and very pointed ; and 

 invariably there is between the branches of the under jaw a naked, more or less pouch-like, fold of 

 skin. The tarsus is short and the toes long in correspondence with the great size of the web which 

 connects all the toes with one another, a character whereby they are particularly distinguishable. 

 The general plumage is thick ; in some instances compact and stiff, but in others of silky softness. 

 Its colour occasionally differs in the two sexes, and varies much at different ages. 



The oar-footed races may all be called inhabitants of the sea, although but a single family is so 

 decidedly oceanic that it never absents itself from the water. All the others willingly prolong their 

 flight far inland, where many of them establish settlements ; indeed, there are certain races that only 

 exceptionally visit the sea at all ; nevertheless, when they do find themselves in that element they are 

 quite at home, and not only care little for the land, but are able to dispense with fresh water. Some 

 of them at certain intervals come on shore to rest themselves or to sleep on rocky islands and coasts ; 

 others prefer a shelving shore ; and others, whenever they get an opportunity, roost upon trees : 

 certain species, indeed, might almost be considered true forest birds. In northern climates, as their 

 breeding-time approaches, many of them migrate with great regularity ; but in low latitudes they only 

 remove hither and thither, northwards or southwards, following the windings of the sea-coast. 



Their nests are generally built either upon trees or in fissures of rocks, sometimes upon ledges 

 of cliffs or on the tops of mountains ; less frequently on the little islands met with in marshes and 

 swamps. Wherever their breeding-place may be, they are generally indebted to other birds for 

 relieving them of a considerable share of the labour of nest-building, often contenting themselves with 

 adding materials to their deserted domiciles. Some of them lay but a single egg, others two, others 

 four ; the eggs are small, of elongated shape, and generally covered with a calcareous deposit which 

 obscures the markings on the shell. Both parents assist in the work of incubation, and some species 

 would seem frequently to produce two broods in the course of the breeding season. Most of these 

 birds feed exclusively upon fishes ; some will occasionally devour small quadrupeds, molluscs, and 

 worms, but fishes invariably constitute their ordinary diet. Some of them catch their food by sailing 

 over the water at a little distance above the surface, whence they suddenly plunge into the water 

 beneath ; some swim upon the sea like Ducks, and seize their prey in shallow water by means of 

 their long necks ; whilst others again, after the manner of the real divers, pursue their prey to a 

 considerable depth. They are terribly destructive to fishes, and are, consequently, everywhere 

 regarded and treated as enemies by all fishermen. 



The TROPIC BIRDS {Phaeton), " Children of the Sun," as they were called by Linnajus, always 

 warn the mariner by their presence that he has entered the precincts of the torrid zone, beyond which 

 they seldom stray. The characteristic features of these beautiful creatures are the small size and 



