Even to the distance of fifteen hundred miles and more from the mouth of
the Amazon, large flocks of the high-flying frigate-birds are descried
hovering at an immense height above the stream, preparing to plunge down
and seize their finny prey.
They measure seven feet from wing to wing, and appear almost to live in
the air. The neck is partly bare, and very extensible; the bill long,
and hooked at the end; the feet small, and webbed. The body of the male
is entirely black, while the hen has the head and neck white.
It is probably a different species from the frigate-bird, or sea-hawk,
of the Eastern tropical seas.