350 
EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
xxvni 
opposite direction to that of the spoonbill: it is thin 
and elastic like a paper-knife, and the two halves come 
together by their thin edges, but the lower half of the 
bill projects beyond the upper at least one-third of its 
length. During life the bill, except the terminal third 
of the lower half, is like the colour of a ripe orange, but 
it quickly fades after death to a dull yellow. 
The Skimmer is like a large tern (sea-swallow) : by 
means of powerful wings it skims the surface of the 
water usually as daylight fades, with its mouth wide 
The head of the Skimmer or Scissor-bill. It is a tax on credulity 
to believe that this bill was designed for securing fish. 
open, but in such a way that the lower half ploughs the 
water, and as shoals of small fish rise in the evening 
hour the bird secures a meal. Darwin gives an 
admiiable description of the methods of this bird as he 
observed it on the Eio Parana and at Monte Video in 
1833 : ‘‘ The water was quite smooth, and it formed a 
curious spectacle to behold a flock (of scissor-beaks) 
each bird leaving its narrow wake on the mirror-like 
surface.” 
The Scissor-bills are found in South and Central 
America and Asia as well as in the Ethiopian Region. 
Livingstone’s attention was attracted to them on the 
