RAVAGES OF ENEMIES 299 



civet-cat, to say nothing of the instances of rap- 

 torial prowess related in a previous chapter. 



Mammalian enemies, however, and in the tropics 

 snakes, crocodiles, and the large lizards, account 

 for an enormous number of birds, and their ravages 

 are in many cases chiefly directed against the more 

 or less helpless young. Fish and other purely 

 aquatic creatures take their toll ; pike are great 

 enemies to young waterfowl ; tiger-fish (flydrocyori) 

 in Africa have been seen to take Bee-eaters when 

 swooping to the surface of water, as trout take 

 flies ; a fin-back whale has been found to have 

 swallowed several Cormorants ; and no doubt the 

 almost complete absence of diving-birds from the 

 tropical seas is connected with the abundance 

 there of sperm-whales and of sharks and other 

 large predatory fish ; it will be noticed that the 

 mammalian analogues of such birds, the seals, 

 are also very scantily represented in tropical waters. 



Of special defences against attack, such as one 

 sees among mammals in the armadillos, and among 

 reptiles in the tortoises, we find little trace in birds, 

 though their feathers are of themselves a very 

 efficient armour, often even turning shot, as sports- 

 men well know. The air-celled skin of the Screamers 

 may act as padding against their wing-spurs when 

 they fight, and the callous pad on the breast of 

 the Ostrich commonly receives the kick of his 

 adversary, though its primary utility is most evi- 

 dently to bear his weight when lying down. 



The frill and warted face of the Ruff have been 



