a Swamp Beauts 



surface, with not so much as a feather 

 showing, while it shoots along swiftly as a 

 fish; or if it must have a little air, you 

 will see its head come out, barely enough 

 to show a reptilian eye, behind which and 

 below wriggles a shadowy neck, apparently 

 without a body. Decidedly uncanny, in- 

 deed, in all its ways, is this rather beauti- 

 ful and very interesting bird of our plashy 

 low country. 



In my own experience the snake-bird 

 has been a problem by no means satisfac- 

 torily worked out. It is a shy creature, 

 haunting, for the most part, difficult or in- 

 accessible places in swamps and watery 

 jungles, where mosquitos and moccasins 

 congregate in numbers beyond reasonable 

 belief; but upon the day now under dis- 

 cussion I had an exceptionally good op- 

 portunity, which I used industriously, to 

 make some additions to my notes and 

 observations on its singular appearance 

 and habits. It is a bird difficult to de- 

 scribe. When flying low, so that it is seen 

 about level with one's eyes, it shows its 

 markings to best advantage. A clear 

 194 



