THE YELLOW-BILLED TROPIC BIRD. 



( Ph aeth on fiavirostris . ) 



The interesting and beautiful Yellow- 

 billed Tropic Birds frequent the sea 

 coasts of tropical regions, and to some 

 extent the coasts of subtropical regions. 

 In America, their range includes the 

 tropical coasts, the West Indies, the 

 Bahamas and the Bermudas. They are 

 occasionally seen on the coasts of Flor- 

 ida and have been reported as an acci- 

 dental visitant in western New York 

 and in Nova Scotia. These birds are 

 called Boatswains by sailors, and they 

 often follow in the wake of vessels sail- 

 ing in tropical seas, for many miles. Be- 

 cause of their tendency to follow the 

 path of the sun, Linnaeus gave them the 

 fanciful generic name Phaethon, de- 

 rived from a Greek word meaning to 

 shine, and in mythology the word was 

 the name of the son of Helios (the 

 Sun) "who insisted on driving his 

 father's chariot, and by unskilful driv- 

 ing set heaven and earth on fire." 



There are three well-marked species of 

 the Tropic Birds. They are the only 

 representatives of the family Phaethon- 

 tidae of the order of Totipalmate Swim- 

 mers (birds having the toes fully 

 webbed). In general, their habits are 

 similar to those of the terns. One; of 

 their most striking characteristics is the 



very long middle tail-feathers which, as 

 Mr. Chapman has said, ''add greatly to 

 the grace and beauty of their appear- 

 ance when on the wing." They are cap- 

 able of long and extended flights, fre- 

 quently flying many miles from land and 

 they seem to be attratced by ships, upon 

 the mast-heads of which they will some- 

 times alight. 



They nest in holes of high cliffs and 

 sometimes, as related by Mr. Oliver 

 Davie, in hollow trees and on the flat 

 surface of rocks. They breed in com- 

 panies and nest in large numbers in the 

 limestone cliffs of the Bermudas. They 

 are also said to breed extensively in the 

 islands of the Pacific Ocean. 



The red-beaked tropic bird is more 

 southern in its range than the yellow- 

 billed species and is more widely dis- 

 tributed, as its range includes the trop- 

 ical portions of the Atlantic, the Pacific 

 and the Indian Oceans. It is only an 

 accidental visitant on the eastern coast 

 of North America, having been reported 

 only from the coast of Newfoundland. 

 The three species of tropic birds are 

 shore rather than sea birds, though they 

 fly for long distances across the open 

 sea. 



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