THE COMMON TEEN 



299 



When seeking food, the Skimmer looks for 

 calm water, and then with most dexterous and 

 well-balanced flight, it slowly wings its way 

 close down to the surface, so low that the lower 

 mandible is actually held in the water while the 

 bird is in full flight. Any small edible object 

 that happens to he on the surface is shot into 

 the mouth, through what is really a very narrow 

 opening. 



This is a bird of the tropics, and is much 

 more at home on the coast of British Guiana, 

 among the scarlet ibises, than it is on the coast 

 of the United States anyTvhere north of Florida. 

 I have never seen it elsewhere than in South 

 America, and on our shores it is a visitor of 

 great rarity. 



THE SKUA AND JAEGER FAMILY. 



Stercorariidae. 



The members of this family are habitants of 

 the cold northern seas and high latitudes. They 



are strong-winged, bold and hardy, and so 

 frequently rob other sea-birds of their prey that 

 they are sometimes called the hawks of the 

 sea. Living examples are rarely seen save by 

 persons who are voyaging northward above the 

 49th parallel. Of the four species inhabiting 

 North America, the following is the one most 

 frequently seen in the United States: 



The Parasitic Jaeger' is quoted geographi- 

 cally in the Check-List of the American Ornithol- 

 ogists' Union as follows: "Northern 'part of 

 northern hemisphere, southward in winter to 

 South Africa and South America. Breeds in 

 high northern districts, and winters from New 

 York and California southward to Brazil." A 

 description of the colors of this bird would be a 

 formidable affair, for both adults and young 

 birds have each two color-phases. The beak 

 of the adult is strongly hooked at the end, like 

 that of a cormorant, but still more pronounced. 



' Ster-co-ra'ri-us par-a-sit'i-cus. Length, about 

 17 inches. 



