NATATORES. 



395 



Buflf. PI. Enl. 998; Catesby's Carolina, Plate XIV; Aud. B. of 

 Am. Plate CCLXII ; oct. ed. VII, Plate CCCCXXVII. 



Frequently mentioned as occurring at various localities visited 

 during the voyage of the Expedition, and is a widely extended 

 species. It occasionally is found on the southern sea-coasts of the 

 United States. 



Mr. Peale states : 



" Soon after the Expedition had left the Chesapeake Bay and was 

 on the Atlantic Ocean, in latitude 38° 13' N., longitude 60° 35' W. 

 of Greenwich, we saw this species, which is the northern limit, pro- 

 bably, of its range. A few breed, possibly, on this part of our coast, 

 as we have known young birds, just fledged, to have been killed on 

 the Potomac, in the month of October. 



" In the Pacific Ocean, we saw this bird frequently, but not so far 

 north. It was always seen in greatest abundance near 'high islands.' 

 It breeds in holes made in the face of a rocky precipice ; and, where 

 such places occurred within the tropics, we were sure to find them. 

 In the mountainous regions of the Island of Tahiti, it is quite numer- 

 ous ; and, formerly, collecting its long tail-feathers was a profession 

 belonging to a particular class of the natives." 



Specimens, from the Paumotu Islands, are in the collection of the 

 Expedition. This bird is frequently mentioned by Dr. Pickering as 

 having been noticed in abundance, and especially in the Island of 

 Tahiti, as above stated. 



2. Phaeton rubricadda, Boddaert. — The Red-tailed Tropic Bird. 



Phaeton ruhricauda, BoDD. Tab. PI. Enl. p. 57 (1783). 

 Phaeton phoenicurus, Gm. Sjst. Nat. I, p. 583 (1788). 



Buff. PL Enl. 979 ; Vieill. Gal. II, Plate CCLXXIX ; Gould, B. of 

 Aust. VII, Plate LXXIII. 



Also a widely diffused species, and frequently mentioned by the 

 naturalists of the Expedition. Specimens are in the collection from 

 the Samoan Islands. 



This species is mentioned by Dr. Pickering as having been found 



