200 THE HUMAN SIDE OF BIRDS 



fishing axe most unusual, owing to an apparent de- 

 formity in the beak which enables them to plough 

 through the water for their prey. In most all birds 

 the maxilla, or upper part of the bill, is unmovable, 

 while the mandible, or lower part of the bill, is mov- 

 able; the skimmer, however, has a pair of scissor- 

 like blades, which are very sharp and movable. The 

 mandible is doubly as long as the maxilla; and as 

 the skimmer flies very near the surface of the water, 

 he ploughs through the waves with his razor-like 

 mandible, where the fishes swim, and whenever a 

 fish appears he snatches it up and arises from the 

 water to swallow it on the wing. These fishers rest 

 on the sand-banks during the entire day, and when 

 night comes on they begin to chatter among them- 

 selves like so many old fisherwomen, and after much 

 ado go forth to play and fish among the waves. 



The snake-birds are widely distributed in the 

 tropics of both hemispheres, and their skill in fish- 

 ing is their greatest asset. Dr. Brewer, in speaking 

 of the American species, says : "It lives principally 

 upon fish, which it seizes by rapidly darting upon 

 them with its sharply pointed and slightly toothed 

 beak. In this movement its neck, which is very 

 long, is thrust forward with the force of a spring, 

 aided by the muscles, that are large and well-de- 

 veloped in the lower and anterior portion of the 



