74 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 
Genus PHAETHON Linnavs. (Page 73, pl. XVIIL,, fig. 1.) 
Species. 
Common CHaractEers.—Plumage very compact, satiny; color white (sometimes 
tinged with pink or salmon-color), varied with blackish on upper parts; bill red, 
orange, or yellow in adults; tarsi and base of toes yellowish, rest of feet black. Nest 
a cavity among rocks on sea-shore of oceanic islands. Egg ovate, dilute claret- 
brown or whitish speckled, sprinkled, spotted, or blotched with deep claret-brown. 
a. Elongated middle tail-feathers with their webs very much broader than the 
moderately rigid shaft. 
b'. Bill yellow or orange. Adult: lengthened tail-feathers pinkish or salmon- 
colored, with black shafts ; no black bars on upper parts, the black being 
in form of patches on scapulars, etc. Young: Upper parts irregularly 
barred with black; tail-feathers marked with a black spot near the end, 
the middle pair not elongated. Length (of adult, including lengthened 
tail-feathers) 25.00-32.00, wing about 11.00, elongated tail-feathers 20.00, 
or less, culmen 2.25. Egg 2.21 1.54. Hab. Intertropical seas, chiefly 
middle western Atlantic, especially in vicinity of the Bermudas and 
throughout West Indies, north to Florida; South Pacific (Samoan 
Islands) ; accidental in western New York. 
112. P. flavirostris Branpr. Yellow-billed Tropic Bird. 
b”. Bill coral-red. Adult: Lengthened middle tail-feathers pure white, with 
white shafts (except toward base); upper parts irregularly barred with 
blackish. Young: (Not seen.) Length (of adult with perfectly devel- 
oped middle tail-feathers) 30.00-35.00, wing 11.75-12.50, elongated tail- 
feathers 22.00, or less, culmen about 2.50. Egg 2.22 x 1.59. Hab. Coasts 
of tropical America (both sides), north to Lower California and West 
Indies ; casual at the Newfoundland Banks. 
113. P. ethereus Linn. Red-billed Tropic Bird. 
a’. Elongated middle tail-feathers with their webs much narrower than the very 
rigid shaft. 
Bill red in life. Adult: Lengthened middle tail-feathers dull reddish, with 
black shafts; wing 13.00, or more, culmen about 2.50. Hab. South 
Pacific. 
P. rubricaudus Bopp. Red-tailed Tropic Bird.! 
Famity SULIDAL.—Tue Gannets. (Page 73.) 
Genera. 
(Characters same as for the Family).............seccseeesseeeees Sula. (Page 75.) 
1 Phaeton rubricauda Bopp., Tabl. P. E. 1783, 57 (ex Burr. Pl. Enl, 979). 
