FS Sebo 
Pirie 
FISHING OF PLOTUS 
worthy, however, that the darter cannot suffer much 
from the pangs of indigestion ; for when the lining of 
the stomach gets somewhat defective it is simply shed 
en bloc, and a new one provided. This convenient 
method of restoring an impaired and dyspeptic stomach 
is at least not common in the animal world. The like- 
ness of the darter to the cormorant is not deceptive, and 
it is more than skin deep. There is no doubt that it 
belongs to the same assemblage of birds as are 
characterized by their webbed feet, the webbing in- 
cluding the “ big toe,” or hallux to be more technical 
in diction. They are all fish eaters, but the darter 
seems to be unique among them for the way in which 
it pursues what in journalese would be termed its 
finny prey. Plotus swims and dives with extreme 
facility and rapidity. Its movements under water are 
as apt as those upon the surface, and as a consequence 
the bird has no difficulty in catching its prey, which 
it transfixes with the very sharply pointed beak. Ris- 
ing to the surface it then tosses the fish into the air 
and neatly catches it as it descends. In order the more 
effectively to retain its hold upon the slippery and 
newly caught fish, the beak of the darter is furnished 
with minute denticulations directed backwards. 
Plotus, when on land and at rest, is seen to have an 
eagerly bent neck craning forwards as if on the look- 
out. This impression is produced by a kink in the 
neck, due to a sudden change in the direction of the 
several vertebree after a certain point. The muscular 
mechanism attached to the kinked part enables the 
beak to be shot out forwards with great velocity, and 
is the means whereby the darter spears its prey. When 
swimming as opposed to diving beneath the waves, 
the darter closely resembles the cormorant; for its 
long neck appears above the water while the pee is 
nearly completely submerged. 
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