330 
POPULAR HISTORY OF BIRDS. 
Mr. Tristram has given^"" some very interesting notes on 
the habits of a species of Tropic bird common in Bermuda 
{Phaethon flavirostris, Brandt). He tells us that of all the 
feathered denizens of the vexed Bermouths^^ this is the 
only bird which gives a character to the landscape. It may 
be seen from early spring to late autumn^ incessantly sailing 
near the shores^ uttering its shrill oft-repeated note. The 
tropic bird is an early riser^ and fishes at an early hour. Mr. 
Tristram has often watched it at sunrise noisily skimming 
the surface of the calm sea and gently dipping ... as 
they catch up any small fish within their reach^ while their 
pink-white plumage glistens with a soft rosy hue in the 
sunbeams. I never but once saw a Tropic bird swim ; when 
it did so^ the tail was expanded like a fan, perfectly erect, 
with the long feathers in the centre stifiPened as it quarrelled 
with a comrade over their prey.''^ After midday Mr. Tris- 
tram observed this Tropic bird fly to a much greater height ; 
indeed it flew so high as often to be scarcely visible. It, 
breeds on the coast of Bermuda, where the cliffs are pre- 
cipitous, depositing its egg on the bare rock. 
* Contributions to Ornithology for 1852, by Sir W. Jardine, p. 37. 
