204 BLACK SKIMMER.
their feet, and watch all jour movement*. If von advance nearer, the
whole flock suddenly taking to wing, fill the air with their harsh cries,
and soon reaching a considerable height, range widely around, until, your
patience being exhausted,''yo'urSMndon the;place. When tbiMtaking
to wing in countless- Aiultitude.s, the snowy white of their 'under parts
gladdrins your eye, but anon, when they all veer through the air, the black
of their long wings and. upper parts products a remarkablefclhitrast to
the blue sky above. Their aerial evolutions oil sueh'rtootfsions am peculiar
and pleasing, a.s they at times appear to be intent on removing to a
great distanc^Tthen suddenly round to, and once;more pass almost over
you, flying .S0 close together as, to appear like a black cloud,, first ascending,
and then rushing down like a torrent. Should they See that
you are retiring, they wheel a few times close over the, ground:, and
when assured that there is no longer any danger,-they alight pell-mell,
with wings extended upwards,, but^presently closed, and once more
huddling together they lie down on the ground, to remain until* forced
off by the tide. When the Skimmers repose on the shores of the mainland
during high-water, they seldom continue ffi^nrg on the same spot,
as if they foil doubtful of security; and a person watching them, at
such times might.suppose, that thoywo.ro engaged in searching for
food.
No sooner has the dusk of overling arrived than the .Skimmers begin
to disperse,, rise' from their, place of rest singly, in pairs, or in
parties from three or four to eight or ten, apparently according to the
degree of hunger they feel, and pi^Hiiim different .directions' along
parts of the shores previously.Jmown 'tu them, .sometimes going up
tide-rivers to a considerable distance!. Tho.\vspend the whole ni'ght
on wing, searching diligently for food. Of this I had ample and satisfactory
proof when ascending the- St John Kiver in East Florida, in
the United States' Schooner the Spark. The ¿hparso cries of the
Skimmers never ceased more than an hour, so that I could easily know
whether they were passing upwards or downwards inSthe dark. And
this happened too when I was at least a hundred miles from the mouth
of the river. .
Being aware, previously to my several visits to the peninsula of
the Floridas and other parts of our: southern coasts where the Razorbills
are abundant, of the observations made on this species 'by M.
BLACK SKIMMER. 205
LESSOS, I paid all imaginable attention to them, always aided with
an excellent glass, in order to find *Béthcr or not they fed on bivalve
sh'ëU-fish found in the shallows of sand-bars and. « 1 e r places at. low
water ;, but not in one single instance did I see any such occurrence, and
in regard to this matter I age.«, with WILSON in asserting that, while
with us, the&e birds do not feed on shell-fish. M. Lw>w& words are
as follows-:—" Quoique le B^-en-ei^aux semble défavorisé par la
ferme de son bec, nous aequimos la preuve qu'il «avait s'en servir avec
avantage et. avec la plus grande adresse. l.cs plages sablone.uses de
Peuee sont en iWecU.-emplies' do.' Mactres,-u^quilles. bivalves, que la
marée descendente laisse presque à se^ dans des petites mares; le
Boc-en-eiseau.\ très au lait de cet phcnomùn«,- se place auprès de ces
mollusques, attend -quo l e « valves s'entrouvrent un peu, et profite
aussitôt do ce.movermmt enenforçant la lamé inférieure et-tranchante
d „ , # n bec entre les valves, qui s^roserront. Lfekea»* enlevé alors
la coquille, la frappe sur: la grève, coupe le ligament du mollusque, et
p e u t e ^ l ê t a v a l ® celui^sans obstacle- Plusiews fois nous avons
été témoins de cot instinct très perfectionné." ;
While watching tl»-. movements of the Black Skimmer as it was
searching, for foo.1, sometimes a full :ho,n- before it was dark, I have
seen'it pass its lower -ntaMible at an feigle of about 45 degrees into
the: water, whilst, its moveable upper mandible was el.n:ated a little above
the surface. In this manner, with wings raised and extended, it
ploughed as it were,, the element in which, its quarry lay to the extent
of several , yards ât a time, rising and. falling alternately,, and that as
freqatótly as it tl.ought it necessary tor securing: its food when in
'gjght of it ; tor I am certain that thés» birds never immerse their lower
mandible until they have, observed the object of their pursuit, for which
reason thoir eyes aro constantly directed downwards like thase of Terns
and Gannets. I have at tiroes stood nearly an hour by the side of a
SIuaU pond of saltwater h a v i n g a communication with the sea or a bay,
while these birds would pass, within a very few yards of me, then apparently
quite regardless of my presence, and .proceed fishing in the
manner above described. Although «lent at the commencement of
their; pursuit, they become n.oisy as the darkness draws on, and then
give out their, usual call .notes, which resemble the syllables hurt, hurt,
twice or thrice repeated at short intervals, as if to induce some of their
companions to follow in their wake. I have seen a few of these birds