150 
RHYNCHOPS NIGRA. 
erect, its body horizontal, and its neck rather extend* ' 
It frequently reposed on its belly, and, stretching ’ j 
neck, rested its long bill on the floor. It spent most * 
its time in this nay, or in dressing and arrang"lj 
its plumage n ith its long scissors-like bill, which 
seemed to perform w'ith great ease and dexterity- , 
refused every kind of food offered it, and, I am persuad* ’ 
never feeds but when on the wing. As to the repo* ' 
of its frequenting oyster beds, and feeding on these n^ ' 
they are contradicted by all those persons with wl'O^ 
I have conversed, whose long residence on the cO**|j 
where these birds are common, has given them the h*' 
opportunities of knowing. ,, 
The sheerwater is nineteen inches in length, 1*®, , 
the point of the bill to the extremity of the tail ; * 
tips of the wings, when shut, extend full four iff 
farther ; breadth, three feet eight inches ; length ot ‘‘ 
lower mandible, four inches and a half; of the up]’^ 
three inches and a half; both of a scarlet red, tii'?,j 
n ith orange, and ending in black ; the lower ext!-eni‘‘-|' 
thin ; the upper grooved, so as to receive the edg* I’ 
the lower; the nostril is large and ])ervious, placed' 
a hollow near the base and edge of the upper maiidi” 
where it projects greatly over the lower; upper p* . 
of the head, neck, back, and scapulars, deep bla***j 
wings, the same, except the secondaries, which " . 
white on the inner vanes, and also tipt w ith whit*^' 
tail, forked, consisting of tuelvc feathers, the 
middle ones about an inch and a half shorter than o' 
exterior ones, alt black, broadly edged ou both si® ^ 
with white ; tail-coverts, white ou the outer sides, bl®* 
in the middle; front, passing down the neck bclo"'.J . 
eye, throat, breast, and whole lower parts, pure ndn'^J 
legs and webbed feet, bright scarlet, formed 
exactly like those of the tern. Weight, twelve j 
avoirdupois. The female weighed nine ounces, ® , 
measured only sixteen inches in length, and three i* 
three inches in extent; the colours and markings 
the same as those of the male, with the exception 
