156 PLOTID^. 



and Ferrari-Perez from Santa Ana in Vera Cruz «. It was, therefore, doubtless this 

 bird, and not P. vigua, which was procured by Salle at Jalapa ^. 



Both P. mexicanus and P. vigua were obtained by Salvin on the Lake of Peten, and 

 we procured the former at Duenas and Chiapam ; here they rested in the trees or swam 

 about in the muddy water. 



We have no record of its nesting within our limits, but it breeds in Texas, and may 

 perhaps do so in Northern Mexico. 



Fam. PLOTID.ai. 



In outward appearance the Darters bear considerable likeness to the Cormorants ; 

 there are, however, many anatomical and external characters which distinguish this 

 extraordinary family. Mr. Pycraft has pointed out some of the osteological features, 

 the most curious of these being the " kink " in the neck, the muscles of which can be 

 suddenly relaxed like a spring, enabling the bird to dart forward its head and seize 

 its prey. The bill is a formidable weapon, being sharply pointed and armed with 

 back-set serrations, so that the escape of a fish when once transfixed is impossible, and 

 many ugly wounds have been inflicted on those who have attempted to capture disabled 

 birds. Another remarkable feature is the transverse rib on the inner secondaries 

 and on the middle tail-feathers. The claw of the middle toe is pectinate, /. e. has a 

 comb-like process attached to it. 



PLOTUS. 

 Anhinga, Briss. Orn. vi. p. 476 (1760). 

 Plotus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 218 (1766). 



The generic name Plotus was established by Linnaeus in 1766 ; under the Strick- 

 landian Code, which is followed by the majority of British zoologists, the earlier 

 appellation of Anhinga of Brisson is untenable. The characters of the family are 

 those of its single genus, Plotus. 



1. Flotns anhinga. 



L' Anhinga, Briss. Om. vi. p. 476 ^. 



Plotus anhinga, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 218"; Scl. P. Z. S. 1857, p. 207%- 1859, p. 369*; Moore, 

 P. Z. S. 1859, p. 65 '; Scl. & Salv. Ibis, 1859, p. 233°; Taylor, Ibis, 1860, p. 316'; Cass. 

 Pr. Philad. Acad. 1860, p. 197 ' ; Frantz. J. £. Om. 1869, p. 379 ' ; Duges, La Nat. i. 

 p. 142"; Salv. P. Z. S. 1870, p. 219"; Finscb, Abb. naturw. Ver. Bremen, 1870, 

 p. 362"; Lawr. Mem. Best. Sec. X. H. ii. p. 317"; BuU. U. S. Nat. Mus. no. 4, p. 50"'; 

 Sumichr. La Nat. v. p. 234 " ; Nutting, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. v. p. 405 " ; vi. p. 378 " • 

 Sahin, Ibis, 1889, p. 376 " ; Ogilvie Grant, Cat. Birds Brit. Mns. xxvi. p. 419 ". 



