Part 32

THE RED-TAILED TROPIC BIRD.

The RED-TAILED TROPIC BIRD (Phaëton phœnicurus) has, like the preceding species, white plumage tinged with rose-colour; a broad, black, transverse band, which commences in front of the eyes, is prolonged towards the back of the head into a point; the centre of the secondary quills, and the feathers on the sides are deep black; the shafts of the primary quills are black nearly to the tips. The middle tail-feathers are white towards their base, but elsewhere bright red with black shafts. The eye is blackish brown, beak scarlet, with a pale blue stripe at its base, and the tarsus faint blue; the feet are black. The length of this species is two feet four inches, breadth three feet; the longest tail-feathers are fifteen inches, and the rest five inches. The Red-tailed Tropic Bird is met with throughout the warm and temperate parts of the South Seas and Indian Ocean; during August and September it retires to breed upon the islands. The following description of the eggs and young was given to Mr. Gould by Macgillivray:--

"The eggs of the P. Phœnicurus are blotched and speckled with brownish red on a pale reddish grey ground, and are two inches and three-eighths long, by one inch four-eighths and a half broad. The contents of the stomach consisted of the remnants of cuttle-fishes."

Latham states that these birds are found in great numbers in the Island of Mauritius, where they make their nests on the ground under trees. According to Bennett, "The nestlings have a singular appearance, resembling powder-puffs, being round as a ball and of a delicate snow-white colour; the plumage of the first year is white speckled with black, and they are deficient in the red shafts projecting from the tail, which do not make their appearance till the second year, when on the young bird moulting, the splendid and delicate roseate plumage is displayed."

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The GANNETS (Sula) are larger but more slenderly built than the Tropic Birds. Their bill is longer than the head, and the upper mandible looks as though it were divided posteriorly into an upper and an under portion, so that the beak has the appearance of consisting of three parts. The tarsi are diminutive but strong; the wings unusually long, with the first quill the longest; the tail consists of twelve feathers, and terminates in a wedge-like point. The face and throat are naked.

The Gannets inhabit the northern hemisphere, and are met with in all seas from 70° north latitude to the tropics; further southward their absence is supplied by other species. They are abundant in Iceland, and the Faroe Islands, the Orkneys, and the Hebrides; upon the coast of Norway they are less frequent, but plentiful on the American shores, both of the Pacific and Atlantic. In Great Britain Gannets breed in great numbers on the Bass Rock, Souliskerry, St. Kilda, Ailsa, and Skellig Islands. They betake themselves to the open sea during the winter, pursuing the herrings, pilchards, and other fishes, upon which they dart nearly vertically. It would seem as if these birds entertained a sort of affection for certain islands, or particular localities upon the coast. When they have an opportunity of doing so, they like to pass the night on dry land, generally preferring high precipitous cliffs that rise abruptly from the sea, and from which they can see the waves breaking perpetually before them. Their choice in this particular is somewhat fanciful, at all events they are always to be seen on certain rocks, and seem as constantly to avoid others apparently just as well suited to their purpose.

The power of flight possessed by these birds is very great; they appear to swim only while they give themselves a little rest upon the water, and are never seen upon dry land except during the breeding season, or when, as has been said, they come on shore to sleep. When trying to stand upon their feet they are very helpless, and their walk is hardly more than a waddle. Neither is their power of swimming of much avail; they allow themselves to be blown along by the wind without any exertion of their own, and, indeed, never use their legs except when compelled to do so. When they employ their wings, however, they make up for these deficiencies; their flight is, perhaps, inferior to that of the Petrels, but it is exceedingly swift and strong. After a few rapid strokes of the wings, apparently to give it the necessary impulse, the Gannet glides through the air like an arrow, wheeling round and turning with the greatest ease, at one time sailing close to the surface of the sea, at another rising high into the air, and guiding its course by the simple sloping of its wings. Its voice consists of a succession of harsh croakings, while that of the young birds is a disagreeable screech. Whoever has visited the localities where these birds breed, will have little difficulty in understanding the beds of guano which of late years have been so profitably turned to account. They congregate upon the islands selected as their nesting-places by hundreds of thousands, and by millions, insomuch that, using the words in their literal sense, the air all around is filled with them; "their multitudes shut out the light of the sun, and their voices deafen any visitor." Towards the end of April they first make their appearance upon these islands, and leave them again about October. Their nests are placed so close together, that it is difficult for a man to walk between them. Those first built are of tolerably large dimensions, those made at a later period considerably smaller, while those constructed by the last comers must necessarily be placed on any little unoccupied spaces that can be sought out. The nest itself consists of a mere heap of land or sea plants, on which the female deposits her single egg. The eggs are of moderate size, with chalky-looking shells that are at first white, but soon become of a dirty yellowish brown. The young birds are not hatched till the beginning of June, and by the end of July are about half grown, but still clad in a yellowish white dress of short down.

"In the year 1821," says Faber, "I visited one of the little islands upon which these birds had built their nests. As soon as I had landed, both young and old greeted my arrival with a burst of most discordant music, consisting of one harsh shrieking sound. Not one of them, however, stirred from the spot where they sat, so that I might have readily helped myself to as many of them as I chose. The nests lay crowded close together, but the ground was so slippery with all sorts of filth, that in walking amongst them I should have run the risk of falling from the craggy cliffs into the sea. It was a wonderful sight to see the multitudes below fishing for food, which, as soon as they had collected enough, they brought with flagging wings to the top of the rock and laid it before their young ones. Towards the end of August, the nestlings are fully fledged, and at that time if they are not larger they are at least fatter than their parents. In this condition the country people catch as many of them as they can, and salt them for food."

In St. Kilda every year there is a regular massacre of young Gannets, which, as they are killed, are thrown down from the rocks into the sea, and there collected into boats; great quantities are then sent to Edinburgh and other places and brought to market.

THE COMMON GANNET.

The COMMON GANNET (Sula alba) is altogether white, except the primary quills, which are brownish black; the upper part of the head and hinder part of the neck are tinged with yellow. The plumage of the young is blackish brown upon the upper parts of the body, speckled with white; the under surface is light brown spotted with a darker shade. The eye is yellow, the beak blueish, the foot green, and the bare skin of the throat black. This species is from thirty to thirty-three inches long, and from seventy-two to seventy-four broad; the wing measures twenty-one, and the tail ten inches. The female is somewhat smaller than her mate.

These birds are constant residents on the shores of Great Britain, changing their locality, however, according to the varying seasons of the year. The principal breeding-places are, Lundy Island, the Skellig Isles on the coast of Kerry; and in Scotland, the Isle of Ailsa, St. Kilda, Souliskerry (Orkney), and the Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth. This latter rock, where Macgillivray made some observations which we will detail, is about a mile in circumference, and of an oblong form, with precipitous cliffs, in some places perpendicular, and in others overhanging, except in one narrow part, where a less abrupt projection forms the only landing-place.

"The Gannets arrive about the middle of February or the beginning of March, and depart in October; some years, a few individuals remain during winter. The nests are composed of grass and seaweed, generally placed on the bare rock or earth elevated in the form of a truncated cone, of which the base is about twenty inches in diameter, with a shallow terminal cavity. On the summit of the island are numerous holes in the turf, formed by the Gannets in pulling away grass and turf for their nests; these are placed in all parts of the rock where a convenient spot occurs, but are much more numerous towards the summit. Some of them, which have been occupied for years on the face of the cliff, or in a shallow fissure, are piled up to the height of from three to five feet; but in this case they always lean against the rock. The egg, which is solitary and presents nothing remarkable in its position, is of an elongated oval form, white, dull, with a chalky surface, usually sullied or patched with yellowish brown dirt. It is subjected to rough usage, for the bird when alighting, flying off, or disturbed by the intrusion of human visitors, tosses it about, and often stands upon it. All the movements of the Gannets on land are very awkward; it hobbles or waddles when it tries to walk, stares at you with its white goggle eyes, opens its ugly black throat, and emits a torrent of crackling sounds.

"When sitting, the Gannets allow a person to approach within three feet, sometimes much nearer, so that one may even touch them. When approached, they merely open their bill and utter their usual cry, or rise to their feet and express some degree of resentment, but little apprehension of danger. They take advantage of the absence of their neighbours to pilfer the materials of their nests; frequently two join in the same act, and occasionally two may be seen at the same bunch, endeavouring to wrest it from each other. They are constantly repairing their nests, which, being composed in a great measure of seaweeds, shrink up in dry weather and decompose in wet; and when seated close together have frequent quarrels. I saw one seize its neighbour by the back of the neck, and hold fast until the assaulted bird, I may say, roared out; but in general they are satisfied with menacing each other with their open bills and loud clamour." Owing to their so often interfering with each other, a constant noise is kept up amongst them. Their cry is hoarse and harsh, and may be expressed by the syllables, "Carra, carra," or "Kirra, kirra;" sometimes it is "Crac, crac," or "Cra, cra," or "Cree, cree." The cry varies considerably in different individuals, some having a sharper voice than others, and when unusually irritated they repeat it with great rapidity.

When first hatched they have a smooth, bare, black skin; this soon becomes covered with white down, which thickens until the nestlings present the appearance of a powder-puff; through this down the true feathers, which are black, appear, and are followed by the adult white plumage.

"The old bird," says Macgillivray, "at first feeds its young with a kind of fish-soup, prepared in its own gullet and stomach, and which it introduces, drop by drop as it were, into its throat; but when its nursling is pretty well grown, it places its bill within its mouth and disgorges the fish, either whole or in fragments. It never carries fish to the rock in its bill. Upon the Cornish coast these birds are most abundant in autumn and winter."

"The fishermen," says Mr. Couch, "learn by their actions when shoals of pilchards are present, and what course they are pursuing. The Gannet takes its prey in a different manner from any other of our aquatic birds; for, traversing the air in all directions, as soon as it discovers the fish, it rises to such a height as experience shows best calculated to carry it by a downward motion to the required depth, and then, partially closing its wings, it falls perpendicularly on the prey, and rarely without success, the time between the plunge and immersion being about fifteen seconds."

THE FRIGATE BIRD.

The FRIGATE BIRD (Tachypetes aquila) has deservedly been called the "Eagle of the Sea." The most conspicuous feature whereby it may be distinguished among all allied species, is the enormous development of its wings. Its body is slim, the neck powerful, and the head of moderate size; the beak is half as long again as the head, somewhat depressed at its base, vaulted above, and strongly hooked at the tip; the apex of the under mandible is bent downwards in a corresponding manner; the space beneath the lower mandible is large, broad, and denuded of feathers; the gape extends backwards to beneath the eyes; the tarsus is very short, powerful, and covered with feathers as far as the feet; the web between the toes is extremely narrow, looking as if a portion of it had been cut away; the toes are furnished with strong, sharp, curved claws, that on the inner side being toothed; the wing is of inordinate length, and sharply pointed at the tip, the first quill being the longest; the tail consists of twelve feathers, and is very long and deeply forked; the general plumage is compact, smooth, and glossy; upon the head, neck, and breast the feathers are elongated, upon the mantle round, and upon the breast fur-like; the throat and a space around the eyes are naked. The colour of the plumage of the adult male is brownish black, shimmering with metallic green and purple on the head, nape, back, and sides; upon the wings it is shaded with grey; and upon the secondary quills and tail with brown; the eye is deep or greyish brown, the naked space around the eye purple-blue, the beak light blue at the root, white in the middle, and dark horn-colour at the point; the sac beneath the throat is orange-yellow. The length of the Frigate Bird is forty-one inches, the spread of the wings twenty-five inches, length of tail eighteen inches. The weight of the entire bird is only a little more than three pounds. The female is distinguishable by her lighter tint and duller colours, and by her breast being more or less covered with white feathers.

The Frigate Bird is to be found in the same latitude as the "Sons of the Sun," braving with them the fervour of inter-tropical heat, but it seldom wanders so far from land as they. It has indeed been reported to have been seen at a distance of from six hundred to seven hundred miles from the nearest coast, but generally speaking, it seldom flies to more than from twenty to fifty miles from the shore, to which it usually resorts in stormy weather. At the earliest dawn of morning it leaves its sleeping-place, and may soon afterwards be observed making broad circles in the air, or flying rapidly against the wind towards the sea in search of food. After catching fishes until satisfied, it returns to the dry land, which it reaches, should the weather be stormy, about noon, but if fine, not until later in the day. Mr. Gosse, wishing to know at what time this species retired to their resting-places, visited one of these, arriving there just at sunset, but found to his mortification that he was too late; already the Frigate Birds, Gannets, and Pelicans that resorted to the spot, had retired to roost. At his approach, however, the whole assembly rose as it were in a mass from the trees where they had been reposing, the Frigate Birds instantly flying far out to sea, or sailing in beautiful circles high in the air, neither did they return until darkness had completely set in. A few days later, the same observer visited the place at an earlier hour, arriving about three or four o'clock in the afternoon, but even then he found that the greater number of them had got home, and were quietly digesting the result of their day's employment.

This bird, according to Bennett, being incapable of swimming and diving, may generally be seen on the alert for flying-fish, when these are started into the air by Albicores and Bonitas, and when unsuccessful it is compelled to resort to a system of plundering other sea-birds. The quiet and industrious tribes, the Gannets and Sea Swallows (Sterna hirundo, Linn.), are generally selected as objects of attack, and on returning to their haunts to feed their young brood, after having been out fishing all day, are stopped in mid-air by the marauding Frigate Bird, and compelled to deliver up some of their prey, which, being disgorged by them, is most dexterously caught by the plunderer before it reaches the water. A Frigate Bird has been observed to soar over the mast-head of a ship, and tear away the pieces of coloured cloth appended to the vane.

"About the middle of May," says Audubon, "a period which to me appeared very late for birds found in so warm a climate as the Florida Keys, the Frigate Pelicans assemble in flocks of from fifty to five hundred pairs or more. They are seen flying at a great height over the islands on which they have bred many previous seasons, courting for hours together, after which they return towards the mangroves, alight on them, and at once begin to repair the old nests or construct new ones. They pillage each other's nests of their materials, and make excursions for more to the nearest Keys. They break the dry twigs of a tree with ease, passing swiftly on wing and snapping them off by a single grasp of their powerful bill. It is indeed a beautiful sight to see them when thus occupied, especially when several are so engaged, passing and repassing with the swiftness of thought over the trees whose tops are blasted; their purpose appears accomplished as if by magic. It sometimes happens that this bird accidentally drops a stick while travelling towards its nest, when, if this should happen over the water, it plunges after it, and seizes it with its bill before it has reached the waves. The nests are usually placed on the south side of the Keys, and on such trees as hang over the water, some low, others high; several in a single tree, or only one, according to the size of the mangrove, but in some cases lining the whole island. They are composed of sticks crossing each other, to the height of about two inches, and are flattish, but not very large. When the birds are incubating, their long wings and tails are seen extending beyond the nest for more than a foot. The eggs are two or three--more frequently the latter--in number, measure two inches and seven-eighths in length, two in breadth, being thus of a rather elongated form, and have a thick smooth shell of a greenish white colour, frequently soiled with the filth of the nests. The young are covered with yellowish white down, and look at first as if they had no feet. They are fed by regurgitation, but grow tardily, and do not leave the nest until they are able to follow their parents on the wing."

"The Frigate Pelican," continues the same authority, "is possessed of a power of flight which I imagine superior perhaps to that of any other bird. However swiftly the Cayenne Tern, the smaller Gulls, or the Jager move on wing, it seems a matter of mere sport to it to overtake any of them. The Goshawk, the Peregrine, and the Gyr Falcon, which I conceive to be the swiftest of our Hawks, are obliged to pursue their victim, should it be a Green-winged Teal, or Passenger Pigeon, at times for half a mile at the highest pitch of their speed before they can secure it. The bird of which I speak comes from on high with the velocity of a meteor, and on nearing the object of its pursuit, which its keen eye has spied out while fishing at a distance, darts on either side to cut off all retreat, and with open bill forces it to drop or disgorge the fish which it has just caught. Upon one occasion I observed a Frigate Bird that had forced a Cayenne Tern, yet in sight, to drop a fish, which the broad-winged warrior had seized as it fell; this fish was rather large for the Tern, and might probably be about eight inches in length; the Frigate Bird mounted with it across his bill about a hundred yards, and then, tossing it up, caught it as it fell, but not in the proper manner; he therefore dropped it, but before it had fallen many yards caught it again. Still it was not in a good position, the weight of the head, it seemed, having prevented the bird from seizing it by that part. A second time the fish was thrown upward, and now at last was received in a convenient manner, that is, with its head downwards, and swallowed. These birds are gregarious, and utter a rough croaking cry."

The Society Islanders ornament the head-dresses of the chiefs with the feathers of these birds, climbing the cliffs, where they are congregated during the breeding season, in order to procure them. The eggs are laid on the sand, beneath a sheltering ledge in the lofty cliffs of Ascension Island and other coasts, and in the low islands of the South Pacific. According to Dr. Bennett, they roost and build in lofty trees. Mr. Burton states that the female deposits one egg, and the male bird sits, a fact clearly established, as one was absolutely taken by the hand while sitting.

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The CORMORANTS (Haliei) are peculiarly-constructed birds, easily recognisable by the following characters:--Their body is very much elongated, almost cylindrical in shape, and powerfully built. Their neck is very long, slender, or thin; their head small. The beak is of moderate length, and either straight and sharp-pointed, or strongly bent down and hooked at the end. The tarsus is short and compressed at the sides; the toes large. The wings are long, but blunt at their extremity, owing to the shortness of the primaries, of which the third is the longest. The tail, which consists of twelve or fourteen feathers, is of medium size, or moderately long, and scarcely at all arched; so that it looks very oddly put on. The quills of the wings and tail are very hard, with the barbs broad and strongly connected, the shafts being strong but flexible; the feathers of the under side are loose and silky, those of the upper side closely imbricated.

The members of this numerous family are to be met with in all parts of the world, living equally well in the sea or in fresh water. Some species are resident in the northern seas, but the greater number frequent the temperate and torrid zones. Their habitat is very diversified; some species seldom remove far from the sea, where they take their station on some rocky island, others dwell in reedy marshes or in lakes formed by rivers, only casually visiting the sea-coast; or follow the course of rivers very far into the interior, where they remain during the breeding season. The northern species are regular birds of passage, but those in southern climates only wander from place to place.