FRIGATE— "WOOD IBIS. 



39 



its motions when at the distance of a quarter of a mile, and pur- 

 suing its avocations without apprehension of danger. In this 

 manner I have seen it probe the sand to the full length of its bill ; 

 knock off limpets from the rocks on the coast of Labrador, using 

 its weapon sideways, and insinuating it between the rock and the 

 shell like a chisel ; seize the bodies of gaping oysters on what are 

 called, in the Southern States and the Floridas, ' raccoon oyster- 

 beds,' and at other times take up a < razor-handle,' or Solon, 

 and lash it against the sands until the shell was broken, and the 

 contents swallowed. Now and then they seem to suck the sea- 

 urchins, driving in the mouth and introducing therr bill by the 

 aperture, without breaking the shell ; again they are seen wading 

 up to their bodies, from one place to another, seizing on shrimps 

 and other Crustacea, and even swimming for a few yards, should 

 this be necessary to enable them to remove from one bank to 

 another without flying." 



The length of this species is about seventeen inches and its 

 breadth about thirty-five inches. 



PLATE XLIII. 



The Frigate, op Man-of-war Bird. (Tachypeles aquilus.) 



This bird is commonly known as the " Eagle of the Sea." A 

 very conspicuous feature, by which it may be distinguished from 

 among all kindred species, is the great development of its wings. 

 According to Dr. Brehm : " The Frigate Bird is to be found in the 

 same latitude as the ' Sons of the Sun,' braving with them the 

 fervor of inter-tropical heat, but it seldom wanders so far from land 

 as they. It has indeed been reported to have been seen at a dis- 

 tance of from six to seven hundred miles from the shore, to which 

 it usually resorts in stormy weather. At the earliest dawn of 

 morning it leaves its sleeping-place, and may soon afterward 

 be observed making broad circles in the air, or flying rapidly 

 against the wind toward the sea, in search of food. After catching 

 fishes until satisfied, it returns to the dry land, which it reaches, 

 should the weather be stormy, about noon, but if fine, not until 

 later in the day." 



This species, according to Bennett, being incapable of swimming 

 and diving, may generally be seen on the alert for flying- fish, when 

 these are started into the air by albicores and bonitos, and when 

 unsuccessful, it is compelled to resort to a system of plundering 

 other sea-birds. The quiet and industrious tribes, the Gannets and 

 Sea-swallows, are generally selected as objects of attack, and on 

 returning to their haunts to feed their young brood, after having 

 been out fishing all day, are stopped in mid-air by the marauding 

 Frigate Bird, and compelled to deliver up some of their prey, 

 which, being disgorged by them, is most dexterously caught by 

 the plunderer before it reaches the water. A Frigate Bird has 

 been observed to soar over the mast-head of a ship, and tear away 

 the pieces of colored cloth appended to the vane. 



"About the middle of May," says Audubon, " a period which 

 to me appeared very late for birds found in so warm a climate as 

 the Florida Keys, the Frigate Pelicans assemble in flocks of from 

 fifty to five hundred pairs or more. They are seen flying at a 

 great height over the islands in which fhe}^ have bred many pre- 

 vious seasons, courting for hours together, after which they return 

 toward the mangroves, alight on them, and at once begin to repair 

 the old nests or construct new ones. They pillage each other's 

 nests of their materials, and make excursions for more to the 

 nearest Keys. They break the dry twigs of a tree with ease, 

 passing swiftly on wing, and snapping them off by a single grasp 

 of their powerful bill. It is indeed a beautiful sight to see them 

 when thus occupied, especially when several are so engaged, 

 passing and repassing with the swiftness of thought over trees 



whose tops are blasted ; their purpose appears accomplished as if 

 by magic. It sometimes happens that this bird accidentally drops 

 a stick while traveling toward its nest, when, if this should hap- 

 pen over the water, it plunges after it, and seizes it with its bill 

 before it has reached the waves. The nests are usually placed on 

 the south side of the Keys, and on such trees as hang over the 

 water — some low, others high ; several in a single tree, or only 

 one, according to the size of the mangrove, but in some cases 

 lining the whole island. They are composed of sticks crossing 

 each other, to the height of about two inches, and are flattish, but 

 not very large. When the birds are incubating, their long wings 

 and tails are seen extending beyond the nest for more than a foot. 

 The eggs are two or three — more frequently the latter — in number ; 

 measure two inches and seven-eighths in length, two in breadth, 

 being thus of a rather elongated form, and have a thick, smooth 

 shell of a greenish-white color, frequently soiled with the filth of 

 the nest. The young are covered with yellowish-white down, and 

 look at first as if they had no feet. They are fed by regurgitation, 

 but grow tardily, and do not leave the nest until they are able to 

 follow their parents on the wing." 



" The Frigate Pelican," continues the same authority, " is pos- 

 sessed of a power of flight which I imagine superior, perhaps, to 

 that of any other bird. However swiftly the Cayenne Tern, the 

 smaller Gulls, or the Jager move on wing, it seems a matter of 

 mere sport to it to overtake any of them. The Goshawk, the 

 Peregrine, and the Gyr Falcon, which I conceive to be the swiftest 

 of our Hawks, are obliged to pursue their victim, should it be a 

 Green-winged Teal, or Passenger Pigeon, at times for half a mile 

 at the highest pitch of their speed before they can secure it. The 

 bird of which I speak comes from on high with the velocity of a 

 meteor, and on nearing the object of its pursuit, which its keen 

 eye has spied out while fishing at a distance, darts on either side 

 to cutoff all retreat, and with open bill forces it to drop or disgorge 

 the fish which it has just caught. Upon one occasion I observed 

 a Frigate Bird that had forced a Cayenne Tern, yet in sight, to 

 drop a fish, which the broad-winged warrior had seized as it fell. 

 This fish was rather large for the Tern, and might probably be 

 about eight inches in length. The Frigate Bird mounted, with it 

 across his bill, about a hundred yards, and then, tossing it up, 

 caught it as it fell, but not in the proper manner; he therefore 

 dropped it, but before it had fallen many yards, caught it again. 

 Still it was not in a good position — the weight of the head, it 

 seemed, having prevented the bird from seizing it by that part. A 

 second time the fish was thrown upward, and now, at last, was 

 received in a convenient manner — that is, with its head downward 

 — and swallowed. These birds are gregarious, and utter a rough 

 croaking cry." 



The length of the Frigate Bird is forty-one inches, the spread of 

 the wings eighty-six inches, length of tail eighteen inches. The 

 weight of the entire bird is about three pounds. 



PLATE XLIV. 



The Wood Ibis. (Tantalus loculator?) 



"The Wood Ibis," says Dr. Coues, "is a remarkable and in- 

 teresting bird. In its general size, shape, and color, it might be 

 likened to a Crane, being about four feet long, and standing still 

 higher when erect ; white in color, with black-tipped wings and 

 black tail. The head is peculiar, being entirely bald in the adult 

 bird, and having an enormously thick, heavy bill, tapering and a 

 little decurved at the end. In Florida, it is sometimes called the 

 ' Gannet ;' on the Colorado, it is known as the Water Turkey." . 



" To go out after birds at noon-day is impossible ; will not some 

 birds kindly come to us? Fulfillment we have, even in the ex- 



