1833.] THE SCISSOR-BEAK. 137 
up this creek. It was very narrow, winding, and deep; on each 
side a wall thirty or forty feet high, formed by trees intwined 
with creepers, gave to the canal a singularly gloomy appearance. 
I here saw a very extraordinary: bird, called the Scissor-beak 
(Rhynchops nigra). It has short legs, web feet, extremely long- 
pointed wings, and is of about the size of a tern. The beak is 
flattened laterally, that is, in a plane at right angles to that of a 
spoonbill or duck. It is as flat and elastic as an ivory paper- 
cutter, and the lower mandible, differently from every other bird, 
is an inch and a half longer than the upper. In a lake near 
Maldonado, from which the water had been nearly drained, and 
which, in consequence, swarmed with small fry, I saw several of 
these birds, generally in small flocks, flying rapidly backwards 
and forwards close to the surface of the lake. They kept their 
bills wide open, and the lower mandible half buried in the 
water. Thus skimming the surface, they ploughed it in their 
course: the water was quite smooth, and it formed a most curious 
spectacle to behold a flock, each bird leaving its narrow wake on 
the mirror-like surface. In their flight they frequently twist 
about with extreme quickness, and dexterously manage with their 
projecting lower mandible to plough up small fish, which are 
secured by the upper and shorter half of their scissor-like bills. 
This fact I repeatedly saw, as, like swallows, they continued to 
fly: backwards and forwards close before me. Occasionally when 
leaving the surface of the water their, flight was wild, irregular, 
and rapid; they then uttered loud harsh cries. When these 
birds are fishing, the advantage of the long primary feathers of 
their wings, in keeping them dry, is very evident. When thus 
employed, their forms resemble the symbol by which many artists 
represent marine birds. Their tails are much used in steering 
