FEMALE BLACK-BELLIED DARTER 



83 



tisfaction of receiving from Mr. John Abbot, of Georgia, a valua- 

 ble communication relative to this bird and some others; for 

 which favor he offers his sincere acknowledgment. 



Mr. Abbot agrees with us in opinion, that the P. anhinga is 

 the female of this species. He says : " Both the Darters I esteem 

 as but one species. I have now by me a drawing of the male, or 

 Black-bellied, only; but have had specimens of both at the same 

 time. I remember that the upper parts of the female were simi- 

 lar to those of the male, except that the color and markings were 

 not so pure and distinct; length thirty-six inches, extent forty-six. 

 These birds frequent the ponds, rivers and creeks during the sum- 

 mer ; build in the trees of the swamps, and those of the islands in 

 the ponds ; they construct their nests of sticks ; eggs of a sky blue 

 color. I inspected a nest, which was not very large, it contained 

 two eggs and six young ones, the latter varying much in size; they 

 will occupy the same tree for a series of years. They commonly 

 sit on a stump, which rises out of the water, in the mornings of 

 the spring, and spread their wings to the sun, from which circum- 

 stance they have obtained the appellation of Sun-birds. They are 

 difficult to be shot when swimming, in consequence of only their 

 heads being above the water.^^ 



