144 ANHINGA OR SNAKE-BIRD.
broad, extending its throat, and compressing them during their descent
into the stomach. It did not appear to relish eels, as it eat all the*
other sorts first, and.kept them to the last ; and after having' swallowed
them, it had great difficulty in keeping them down, hut, although for
a while thwarted, it would renew its efforts, <and at,; length master them.
When taken.,to the tide-pond at the foot of my friend's garden, it would
now and then after diving return to the surface of the- water with a
cray-fish in ila mouth, which it pressed hard and dashed about in its bill,
evidently for ¡,$1®. purpose of maiming it, before it would attempt to
swallow it, and it never caught a fish withciut bringing it up to sub-
. j e c t ^ to the same operation. .
While residing near Bayo,u Sara, in thj State of Mississippi, I was
in the habit of occasionally visiting' some acquaintances:: residing at
Pointe Coupé, nearly opposite the mouth of the bayou. One day, on
entering the houssi of an humble, settler close on the western bank of
the Mississippi, I observed two young Anhingas that had . been taken
out .of a nest containing four, whicl^had been built on agSnfegypregs
in a lake on the eastern side of the river. , They were perfectly tame
and gentle, and .much attached to their foster-parents, the man and
woman of the house, whomjhey followed wherever ihcy went. They
fed with equal willingness on shrimps and fish, and when neither could
be had, contented themselves wkb . boiled Indian corn, of which they
caught with great ease the grains as thin- were thrown one bv one' to
them. I was afterwards, informed, that when a year old, they were '
allowed to go to the river and fish for themselves, or to the ponds on
either side, and that they regularly returned towards night for the purpose
of roosting on the top of the housJ|g Both birds were males,, and.
in time they fought hard battles, Jmt at last each met with a female,
which it enticed to fh& roost,,on the house-top, where all the four slept
at night for a while. Soon after, Jhe females having probably laid their
eggs in .this woods, they ail disappeared, and wore, mn or again seen by
the persons who related this curious aflkir.
The Anhinga is shy and wary when residing iti a densely peopled
part of the country, which, however, is rarely the ease, as I
have already mentioned ; but when in its favourite secluded and
peaceful haunts, where it has seldom or never been,,, molested, it is
easily approached and without difficulty procureC; nay, sometimes one
will remain standing in the same spot and in thwsame posture, un-
ANHINiGA OR SNAKE-BIRD.
145
• MM— • •BhI bi
fishLg • to plunge.from a H or stump in pursuit M M prey bu
to dive while s v M t g ^ the W ^ M M E g and many other
.birds, IHffe'edf it ood* very seldom see arfish from above the suriac,
^f'ithe turbid^waterWhicih it .prefers. I
• B along the teaches of trefes B H H
M • aid l m EgIexte»d* i H •
• and not unfrequerMy a t o n i n g its bill in the manner of a J'arrot
On the land, it walk, and • runs with considerable ease, g g .
• with Sfirte M H than the/Cormorant, though much j g the
-same .styles»: Bu.ti*does not employ» H E aid it, for,
-trary, it carries that organ inclined, upwards, and .toing its progress
from one place to mother, the movements of its head and neck « c o n -
tinued. These ^movements, which, as 1 have.,aid, resen.ble sudden
— of .the parts to -their full extent, become extremely gracefol
during the love season, when they are 119 to gentle curvatures.
I must «.«orgetrto say, that during all these m o v e n t s , the gular
pouch? iSjdistended,1 and the bird emtorough guttural sounds. If they
are courtmg on wrng, however,^ the manner of Cormorants, Hawks,
and m any other birds, theyemjt,a whistling note, somewhat res^mbhng
— I to.rapacious birds, and which may.be .expressed by
-the syllables • * M ^ B ^ B re s t
sfrength. When they are on the water, their call-notes so much .Assemble
thfe riiugh grunting cries-of the .Florida Cormorant, that Iha^e
o f t e n mistaken themifor the latter!' !i ' •'•1 '
The flight of the Anhinga I swift, and at times,well sustained;
but like the Cormorants,:' it has. the habit of spreading its wings and
tail before it leaves-its perch® the surface ©j llg'Wafer, thus frequently
affording the sportsman a go,«1 opportunity of shooting it. When once
on w i n g , - t h e y canrise t„ a vast height, in beautiful gyrations,; varied
during — ty zigzag lines chiefly performed by the male,
as he-plays around Ms beloved At times,: they qmfjdisappea* from
the gaze, lost as-it were,.» the upper regions.of the air; at other
•times, whenmuch lower,. seem to remain suspended in the same spot
^ t g ^ r a r a l seconds... All « i s while, and indeed,® long as they are
flying, their wings are directly extended, .their neck stretched to its
full length, their tail more or less spread according to the movements
n
VOL. IV.