There are three species of the Phaeton—the Red-tailed Phaeton (Phaeton Phœnicurus), with white plumage, shaded with a light rose-coloured tint, having the two long feathers of the tail of a red hue. It inhabits the seas of India and Africa, Madagascar, the Isle of France, and the Pacific Ocean. The White-tailed Phaeton (Phaeton æthereus), with white plumage, with the two long feathers in the tail white. It is a native of the Atlantic Ocean. The Yellow-beaked Phaeton (Phaeton flavirostris) is distinguished by the colour of its beak. It is a native of the islands of Bourbon and Mauritius.
The Darter (Anhinga).
Synonyms.—Plotus: Linn., Klein, Scopoli. Anhinga: Brisson, Temminck. Darter of English and American writers.
Fig. 102.—Darter (Anhinga, Levaillant).
The Darter ([Fig. 102]) has a straight and pointed bill, with indentations at the point, turned in a backward direction. Its head is slender and cylindrical, and forms the termination of a slim and excessively long neck, which gives it much the resemblance of a serpent grafted on a bird. In all its movements this neck is the counterpart of the reptile, and imitates its undulations; therefore, in the United States it has received the name of the "Serpent-Bird." They are untiring swimmers and excellent divers. When any danger threatens them, they dive completely under water, and do not reappear until they have found some tufts of reeds in which to hide, even should the distance be as much as one thousand feet from the spot where it disappeared. These birds are of a wild and suspicious nature, confining themselves to solitary places. They perch upon trees which grow by the sides of a pool or river, in order to dart upon any unfortunate fish which comes within their reach, which they seize with extraordinary address, swallowing it whole if not too large. If they cannot manage this, they carry it to a rock, where they dismember it with their beak and claws.
The Anhinga builds its nest on the topmost branches of trees, constructing it of dried twigs and reeds, and lining it inside with a thick layer of down.
Only two species of the Anhinga are known: the Anhinga (Plotus) Levaillantii, a native of Africa, the plumage of which is black from the breast to the tail; and the Black-bellied Darter (Plotus melanogaster), an American species.
Levaillant, in his usual lively manner, relates that he was induced to visit a rich proprietor in the Canton of the Twenty-four Rivers by a tempting description he received of two extraordinary birds which haunted the vicinity. They frequented a particular tree, and baffled him more than once by their skill; but at length he got within shot, and killed both of them right and left. He describes them as diving for fish. When they caught a small one it was swallowed; when a large one, it was carried to a rock or the trunk of a tree, when the bird, fixing it beneath its feet, picked it to pieces with its bill. Though the water is its favourite element, it is on trees and rocks, he tells us, that it establishes its nest and brings up its young, taking care to place the nest so that the young may be precipitated into the water as soon as they are able to swim, or when the safety of the family requires it.