79 
Cormorant ( Graculus car bo), which ranges along the Atlan¬ 
tic coast from Labrador southward. 
The strange-looking bird of this order, which is kept in the 
fountain basin in the Aviary, is the Darter or Water Tur¬ 
key (Plotus anhinga). They are natives of the most impene¬ 
trable swamps of the Gulf States, and are so difficult of ap¬ 
proach that their capture alive is an event of great rarity. 
They commonly perch on a branch closely overhanging the 
surface, and on the least alarm drop noiselessly into the 
water and swim away unnoticed. Nuttall says of this bird :— 
“Its long and dark serpentine neck and small head, vi¬ 
brating backward and forward, present entirely the appear¬ 
ance 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withdrawn, and sweeping beneath the flood in perfect silence, 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 ap¬ 
proach.” The specimen in the Garden was captured when 
very young, but has thriven remarkably well, considering the 
entire change of condition to which it has been subjected. 
There are three or four allied species in Asia, Africa, and 
Australia. 
The Common Trumpeter ( Psophia crepitans), Guiana. 
The Cayenne Rail ( Aramides cayennensis) South America 
and West Indies. 
The Carolina Rail (Porzana Carolina ), North America. 
The Sickle-billed Curlew (. Numenius longirostris), North 
America. 
The Clapper Rail (. Rallus longirostris), Eastern United 
States. 
The Florida Gallinule {Gallinula galeata), Gulf States. 
The Martinique Water Hen ( Porphyrio martinica), 
Southern United States and West Indies. 
The Black-backed Porphyrio ( Porphyrio melanotus ), Aus¬ 
tralia. 
The Hyacinthine Porphyrio ( Porphyrio hyacinthinus), 
Europe and Asia. 
The Common Coot ( Fulica americana), North America, and 
the American Woodcock (JPhilohela minor), Eastern United 
