One Season's Game-Bag with Camera 



401 



YOUNG MAN-0 -WAR BIRD AT CLOSE; RANGE 



The man-o'-war or frigate bird belongs to the inter-tropical seas. They have a greater 

 expansion of wing in proportion to the weight of the body than any other bird, and in power 

 of flight are unsurpassed, soaring for hours at a great height, often far out at sea. The\ 

 live on flying fish or by robbing the boobies, gulls, and terns. The long, narrow, powerful 

 bill has at the end a horny hook, in appearance and substance like a talon, while the feet, 

 from lack of use, are small and atrophied. The male is a brilliant black and has a con- 

 cealed pouch of red skin which, when inflated, resembles a toy balloon ; the female is brown- 

 ish black with a splotched breast of white. The single young is white with black wings, 

 and always stands erect in the nest. 



