340 
VERTEBRATA. 
crimson spots. The young birds, covei-ed with a grayisli-wliite down, are assiduously attended 
by the parents, who are then tame, and easily approached. When alarmed, like Gulls, they as 
readily cast up the contents of their pouch, as those birds do of the stomach." 
Genus PLOTUS : Plotus. — This includes the Darters^ of which there are several species : in 
these the general form of the body and 
feet resembles that of the cormorants; but 
the head is smaller, and supported upon a 
very long, slender neck, and the beak is 
perfectly straight and pointed, with the 
edges of the mandibles denticulated. The 
appearance of these birds is so singular, 
that some of the old voyagers regarded 
them as anomalous creatures, partaking of 
the nature of the snake and the duck ; and 
the Hottentots are said by Levaillant to give 
them the name of Slange-Hals-Voogcl, or 
Snake-necJced birds. They are found in the 
warmer parts of the world, principally in 
America and Africa, where they haunt the 
margins of rivers and lakes, perching up- 
on the trees, or flying over the surface imtil 
a fish comes in sight, when they imme- 
diately plunge down upon it, and rarely 
miss their aim. When swimming, the 
body is generally concealed under water, 
and sometimes only the head is visible. 
Their favorite position is upon the branches 
of trees overhanging the water, and when 
disturbed they are said to glide into the 
water so silently that the agitation of the 
waves is not greater than would be pro- 
duced by an eel. 
These birds, like several others of this 
family, are said to nidificate in trees. 
The Anhinga or Snake-Bird, P, anhinga — sometimes called Water-Turkey — is two feet ten 
inches long; color black, with green reflections; found in the fresh waters of the South Atlantic 
States ; also in South America as far south as Brazil. Nuttall says : "Its long and dark serpent- 
ine neck and small head, vibrating backward and forward, presents entirely the appearance of a 
snake, whether seen through the foliage of a tree, or emerging from the still and sluggish stream 
in which it often swims, with the body wholly immersed to the neck, and on being approached 
or startled, even that is instantly withdrawn, and sweeping beneath the flood in perfect silence, we 
at length see it again rise at a distance which defies approach." Another species is the P. 
Levaillanti of Africa, which closely resembles the preceding. 
Genus PHAETON" : Phaeton. — This includes the tropic birds, well known to navigators of 
the tropical seas, called Strato-Tails, and by the French, Paille-en-queue. 
The Common Tropic-Bird, P. cethereus, seems to belong chiefly to the warmer parts of the At- 
lantic Ocean. Its body is about the size of a pullet, that is, thirteen inches long from the point 
of the bill to the insertion of the tail ; the two long, narrow tail-feathers, which constitute a pe- 
culiarity of the bird, are seven inches. Thus its extreme length is about twenty inches. The 
plumage is white, with black, wavy lines on the back. Its wings are long, and its flight calm, 
composed of frequent strokes of the wing. It appears to fly by night as well as by day, and 
probably often continues on the wing for as much as twelve hom-s at a time. These birds are 
often seen far out at sea ; in general, however, they return to the land at night. They live chiefly 
THE ANHINGA OR SNAKE-BIED. 
