Endurance Test; or, How Clear Grit Won the Day

The Rails live in marshes. The Gallinules live on marshy banks of rivers, lakes, etc. The Coots are still more aquatic, and are very noisy; all of this family lay their eggs on the ground.

The Flamingoes formerly visited Southern Florida every winter. Now their appearance is rare. The singularly shaped beak of this splendid bird is peculiarly adapted to its long and flexible neck. When the bird wishes to feed it merely stoops its head into the water; the upper mandible is then lowest and is well fitted to receive the nutritive substances which are entangled in a filter placed on the edges of the beak.

The color of its plumage is a deep brilliant scarlet, except the quill feathers, which are black. When a number of these birds stand ranged in a line, according to their custom, they present the appearance of a small and well-drilled body of soldiers.

Wild Swans are now rare birds in the United States. They feed as they swim by putting their long necks and heads under the water. They swim with great rapidity.

Watch the skies in the spring and when you see a V-shaped flock of birds flying northward, the wild geese are flying. It is said that the apex of the V is always an old gander. They feed on vegetable matter, both in the water and on shore.

The White-fronted Goose is common in the Mississippi Valley and on the Pacific Coast.

The Canada Goose travels many thousand miles each year in its migrations.

Geese nest on the ground, the nest being made of grasses and twigs and thickly lined with down.

The Mallard is the origin of our domestic bird, and is widely spread over the northern parts of Europe, Asia and America. In the winter it migrates in countless flocks to the warmer States.

The Black Duck is sometimes called the Black Mallard. The Red-head Duck along the Atlantic Coast feeds in salt water. The Canvasback is in great demand on account of the superior quality of its flesh as food. Both the Red-head and Canvasback are fond of feeding on wild celery, and it is said that it is this that gives their flesh the fine flavor.

These birds nest in colonies. Their flight is strong. The White Pelican and the Brown Pelican are found in Florida. It is a very conspicuous bird, its singular membranous pouch offering a distinction perfectly unmistakable. The pouch, when distended, holds two gallons of water, but the bird has the power of contracting it so that it can scarcely be discerned.

The pouch serves as a net in which to scoop up the fish on which the Pelican feeds.

Another most important use of the pouch is to convey food to the young. The parent Pelican presses the pouch against its breast, in order to enable the young to obtain the fish, which action in all probability gave rise to the fable of the Pelican feeding its own blood. Although web-footed, it can perch on trees, although it prefers sitting on rocks.

Cormorants like the sea, but sometimes may be seen inland. They, too, are colony birds. Their nests are made of sticks and seaweed.

The Cormorant is exceedingly voracious, and devours an almost incredible amount of fish. It is an excellent diver, and chases the fish actually under the water, seldom if ever returning without having secured its prey. Like the otter, when engaged in chase, it occasionally rises to take breath, and then resumes the pursuit with renewed vigor. It has the power of perching on trees, an accomplishment which we should hardly suspect a web-footed bird of possessing.

The Cormorant is easily tamed, and its fishing propensities can be turned to good account. The Chinese, at the present day, employ a kind of Cormorant for that purpose, having previously placed a ring round the bird's neck to prevent it from swallowing the fish. Its length is about three feet.

The Stormy Petrel is, under the name of Mother Carey's Chicken, the terror of the sailor, who always considers the bird as the precursor of a storm. It is the smallest of the web-footed birds. Few storms are violent enough to keep this curious little bird from wandering over the waves in search of the food that the disturbed water casts to the surface.

The Albatrosses are relatives of the Petrels, but much larger birds.

The Wandering Albatross, the largest of the genus, is a well-known bird in the southern seas, following ships for many miles. The flight of this bird is peculiarly majestic. Its extreme length of wing prevents it from rising at once from the ground, but when once launched into the air it seems to float and direct its course without effort.

The Terns, or Sea Swallows, are possessed of great power and endurance of flight, their long forked tails and pointed wings indicating strength and swiftness.

It preys on fish, which it snatches from the surface with unerring aim as it skims over the waves with astonishing velocity.

They inhabit the seashore and, unlike gulls, make distant journeys from the coast.

The Gulls are larger birds than the Terns. As the vultures are the scavengers of the land, these birds are the scavengers of the sea. They are frequently seen at great distance from land, resting on the water. Their nests are found in colonies.

The Puffin is an excellent diver, plunging fearlessly from a lofty cliff into the sea, and speedily returning with its beak full of fish, which are secured by their heads, and lie in a row along the bill of the Puffin, forming a kind of piscatorial fringe. Its enormous and sharp-edged bill renders it a formidable antagonist to intruders. It is often called the "Sea Parrot."

Inhabit fresh water lakes during the summer and the sea during the winter. They can swim considerable distances under water. Their nest is near the shore.

The foot of the Grebes is not webbed like that of most water birds, but each toe is separated and flattened, so as to serve as a separate paddle.

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