452 



The Living Animals of the World 



Zoological Gardens of London. For the sake of those who have not, we may say that the 

 darter may be described as a long-necked cormorant, with somewhat lighter plumage. The 

 head is small and flat, and armed with a pointed, dagger-like bill, whose edges are finely 

 toothed, with needle-like points projecting backwards. The neck is very long and slender; 

 hence its name of Snake-neck. Furthermore, it is remarkable for a very strange " kink," 

 formed by a jieculiar arrangement of the neck-bones — an arrangement intimately associated 

 with its })eculiar method of capturing its j)rey, which, as with the cormorant, is pursued 

 under water. How dexterously this is done may be seen any day in the Fish-house at the 

 Zoological Gardens, where, as we have already mentioned, these birds are kept. At feeding- 

 time they are turned loose into a large tank 

 ; into which a number of small fish have 

 j ' been placed. The birds dive as soon as they 



reach the water, and with surprising speed 

 chase their prey till within short range. 

 Then, by a sudden bayonet-like lunge, made 

 possible by the peculiar "kink"' in the neck, 

 a victim is transfixed, brought to the surface, 

 released from the bill by a series of sudden 

 jerks, tossed into the air, and dexterously 

 caught and sw-allowed. 



The darter is found in Africa, India, 

 the Malay region, Australia, and South 

 America, frequenting the banks of rivers, 

 lakes, and swamps, sometimes singly, some- 

 times in pairs or in immense flocks. 



^ery different from either of the fore- 

 going species, both in build and coloration, 

 is the Gakxet. In its habits it is also 

 different. The adult bird is about the size 

 of a goose, white in colour, and armed with 

 a jiowerful pointed bill. The young have a 

 quite distinct plumage, being deep brown, 

 speckled with white, this livery being worn 

 for nearly three years. 



The greater jiart of a gannet's lifetime 

 seems to be spent upon the wing, a fact 

 which implies a very different method of 

 feeding from that followed by the cormorant 

 and darter ; and this is actually the case. 

 Preying upon shoals of herring, mackerel, 

 s])rats, or pilchards, the birds, flying singly 

 or in flocks, as soon as the fish are discovered, 

 es to such a height as experience shows best calculated to carry them 

 by a downward motion to the required depth, and then, partially closing the wings, plunge 

 upon then- prey, and rarely without success, the time which elapses between the plunge 

 and the immersion being about fifteen seconds. A flock of gannets feeding is a really 

 ^^ondertul sight, and can be witnessed in many places around the British coasts, for the 

 gannet is one of the very common British birds. The pilchard-fishermen off the Cornish 

 coast learn when the shoals are at hand, and the direction in which they are travelling, 

 jy le actions of these birds. A very cruel experiment is sometimes practised upon the 

 gannet, bised upon its well-known method of fishing. A herring is tied to a beam and 

 set aantt, and the bird, not noticing the trap, plunges with its usual velocity upon the 



riiRMoi! v^ r. 



In the spring a slight crest is develoiied, and a ivliite ijiitoli appear 

 tlie tliigb. 



rise, soar in circle 



