_Phaeton æthereus._—+LINN.+
Aud. pl. 262.
[134] “Length 15 inches, expanse 32, flexure 10, beak 3, tail of
14 feathers, graduated, the middle pair 5 inches, the outmost 3,
middle toe 1⁸⁄₁₀. Beak white, or very pale yellow; feet white;
claws black. General plumage white, very silky, especially about
the head: bases of crown feathers black. Upper neck, back, rump,
and wing-coverts marked with cross, black, arcuated bars. Beneath
each eye two black lines, which passing over the eye, meet at the
back of the head. Tail, shafts and tips black. Five first quills
have the outer edges and shafts black; the remaining primaries
and secondaries, bluish; tertiaries chiefly black, with white
edges, forming a black spot in each wing. Feet far behind.” (Rob.
_abridged_.)
The bird which Robinson has described (MSS. ii. 124,) in the terms
quoted below, is doubtless to be referred to this species, though from
the shortness of the tail-feathers, and the colour of the beak and
feet, I presume it to have been an immature specimen. He describes
its habits as resembling those of the Terns: it was brought to him
alive, having been knocked off a fish-pot-buoy; he kept it almost a
week, feeding it with the offal of fish, which it ate greedily. When
it attempted to walk, it spread its wings, and waddled along with much
difficulty, which arose not only from the backward position of its
legs, but also from their shortness and weakness. Sometimes it made a
chattering noise, like the Belted Kingfisher, and it had another cry,
not unlike that of a Gull. It would bite, upon occasion, very hard.
The head and neck were very big in proportion.
It is mentioned to me as one of the constant frequenters of the Pedro
Kays.
+Fam.+—LARIDÆ. (_The Gulls._)