202 
BIRDS OF THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 
It was a most singular spectacle : thousands and thousands of these 
great, and ordinarily wild birds, covered the whole surface of the 
prickly-pears as they sat on their nests, or darkened the air as they 
hovered over them, so tame that they would hardly move on being 
touched ; indeed, the specimens that I procured were all taken alive, 
with my own hands. When I had penetrated as far among them as 
possible, I fired my gun ; the whole colony rose at once, and the 
noise made by their long and powerful wings striking against each 
other was almost deafening. In a moment they commenced settling 
upon their nests, and were soon as quiet as before. Incubation is 
carried on by both male and female. The old ones feed the young 
at first by regurgitation. The food consists of the same species of 
fish as the Booby’s, and is principally derived from that bird, whom 
they rob as the Bald Eagle does the Fish Hawk. Why the Booby 
should submit to this, being much more powerful and armed with a 
most formidable bill, is strange. I have watched these birds for 
hours while flying, and every now and then hovering over the sur- 
face of the water, but never saw them catch a fish. The popular 
idea at the Bahamas is, that the fish are stupefied by the excrement 
of this bird. If there is any foundation for this idea, I presume it is 
that the fish are attracted by it; though the abundance of fish is 
such, that one would think it hardly worth while to attract them in 
any way. 
“ The young are at first nearly naked, then covered with a white 
down, and by the time they are the size of a Pigeon have the bronzed 
black scapulars so developed that they look, whilst sitting on their 
