Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/696

 692 DARTER afterward James I. of England, was born. In January, 1567, at Glasgow, Darnley was taken ill with smallpox, and during his convalescence was removed to a solitary house called the Kirk of Field, near Edinburgh, from an apprehension that if taken to Holyrood he might communi- cate his disease to the young prince. The queen visited him here several times, and seemed to manifest some tenderness for him. On the night of Feb. 9 the house was blown up with gunpowder, and the dead bodies of Darnley and his servant were found near the ruins. The earl of Both well, the queen's lover, was the chief actor in this tragedy, and three months later the queen became his wife. DARTER^ a bird of the order natatores and genus plotus (Linn.). The bill in thi3 genus is longer than the head, straight, and very slender, with sides much compressed to the acute tip, and the lateral margins finely ser- rated; the nostrils are scarcely visible; the wings are long, the second and third primaries the longest ; the tail is long, of 12 feathers, and broad toward the end, which is rounded ; the tarsi are short and strong ; the toes long, united by a broad web, with short, sharp, and curved claws. Four species are described by Black-bellied Darter (Plotus anhinga). Gray : P. anhinga (Linn.), in the southern states of North America ; P. melanogaster (Gmel.), in Asia; P. Congensis (Leach), in Africa; and P. Nova Hollandia (Gould), in Australia. They are peculiar to warm climates, where they live in society on fresh-water rivers and lakes. The first named species, the anhin- ga, or snake bird, or black-bellied darter, may be taken as a type of the genus. The bill of this bird is about 3 in. long, the length to end of tail 36 in., extent of wings 44 in., tail 11 in., tarsus in. ; weight 3 Ibs. The head is small, the neck very long and slender, and the body elongated ; at the base of the upper man- dible, around the eye, and on the throat, the >kin is bare, and at the latter part dilated as in the cormorant. The plumage of the head, neck, and body is close and silky, with oblong rounded feathers ; from near the eye to half down the neck on each side is a series of long, narrow, loose feathers ; the scapulars are elon- gated, pointed, compact, and stiff. The upper mandible is olive, the lower yellow, with greenish tips ; around the eye greenish, sac on throat orange, iris bright carmine ; the general color of the head, neck, and body, glossy dark green, and of the scapulars, wings, and tail, bluish black ; the long neck feathers are pur- plish white or lilac ; at the lower part of the neck behind are numerous oblong small white spots, forming two broad bands as they extend backward ; similar rows of white spots are seen on the smaller wing coverts ; the first row of small and the secondary coverts are white ; the tail is tipped with a band of brownish red, fading into white. In the female, which is smaller, the upper part of the head and the hind neck are dull greenish brown, and the fore part of the neck pale reddish brown with a grayish tinge, extending over the breast and ending abruptly in a reddish chestnut band ; otherwise the colors are as in the male, except that the spots are less distinct, and that the fore part of the back has a brownish tint. In appearance and habits the darter resembles the cormorant, especially in the structure of the feet, wings, and tail ; the bill is like that of the heron, as also is the neck, which forms the same sudden curvature between the seventh and eighth vertebrae. According to Audubon, there are no external nostrils in the adult, though small ones are found in the young. This bird is a constant resident in Florida, and the lower parts of Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia ; in spring it goes as far up as North Carolina, breeding along the coast ; in these various localities it bears the names of water crow, Grecian lady, water turkey, and cor- morant. They arrive in the Carolinas from March to April, and remain till November, preferring rivers, lakes, and lagoons in the in- terior, in low situations and secluded spots ; though sometimes seen near the sea, they are not known to fish in salt water ; they do not like rapid streams or clear water, but delight in the slimy and stagnant pools of inaccessible morasses, where a few large and naked trees in the centre afford good stands for taking their prey or observing an enemy.- From the character of the water they prefer, which would prevent their seeing a fish beneath its surface, they do not dive from an eminence or on the wing, but drop silently from the trees into the water, swimming about and diving from the surface like the cormorant. They are excellent swimmers, very light on the water when not afraid, but sinking all but the head and neck on the approach of an enemy ; when swimming in this manner, the sinuous motions of the head and neck resemble the movements of a snake, whence the common name of snake bird. After securing a fish, the bird comes to the surface, throws it into the air if not too large, and swallows it whole, head first. Its food consists of various