Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/512

 500 FRIGATE BIRD FRISIANS and the Australian species, T. ariel (Gould). In proportion to their size, their wings are longer than in any other bird ; their flight is so powerful that they are seen more than 1,000 m. from land, and so rapid that they descend upon their prey with a velocity sur- passing that of the swiftest falcons ; they can glide smoothly along like a kite, and breast the hurricane without apparent effort, rising with ease above the tempest clouds whenever they please ; they often fly in flocks so high as to be scarcely visible. They move with great difficulty on land, and rarely alight on the water; by raising the wings perpendicu- larly and spreading the half-erect tail, they readily ascend from a level surface. They do not dive in search of food, but obtain it on the wing ; the smallness of the webs prevents them from being good swimmers. The food consists principally of fish, which their acute sight en- ables them to detect from a great height; when one sees a shoal of fish, he swoops rapidly down, but does not plunge, quickly changing his course and swimming along the surface with the neck and feet stretched horizontally ; then raising the wings above the back, and fixing them one against the other, the bird darts at its prey, which it rarely fails to seize. It follows the shoals of flying fishes, and catches them in the ajr; it also picks up dead fish and floating garbage like the gulls ; during the nesting period young birds form a favorite article of food, its own nest- lings suffering in like manner from the turkey buzzards. But its favorite way of providing for its wants, and that which has given it its warlike name, is that pursued by the bald eagle with the fish hawk; possessing great strength, and with superior power of wing, it pursues the terns and gulls which have secured a fish, and by beating them with wings and beak forces them to drop or disgorge it ; then descending with great rapidity, it seizes the prey before it reaches the water. It is believed by some that frigate birds harass the pelicans and boobies in this manner, but Audubon and others say that this is not the case, as these large birds, with a single stroke of their pow- erful bills, could easily destroy their aggressors. They are very quarrelsome, and the robbers despoil the original thief whenever opportunity offers. With all this strength of wing, Audu- bon says the keel of the sternum is no more developed than that of the short-flying grouse and partridge, showing the insufficiency of this bony crest as a means of indicating the power of flight. They are not shy; when shot at and wounded they disgorge the contents of the stomach, generally of the most fetid character ; their only note is rough and croaking, and very seldom uttered ; the flesh is totally unfit for food. They are rarely found further north than Charleston, S. C., but are abundant in the south from Florida to Texas, and in Cali- fornia. These marine vultures, as they have been called, breed in great numbers on the Florida keys, generally making their nestc of coarse sticks in mangrove trees, beginning about the middle of May ; the eggs are two or three, about three inches long and two broad, of a greenish white color; the young grow slowly, and are fed by regurgitation. FRIGGA. See ODIN. FRINGE TREE (chionantJiusVirginica, Linn.), a beautiful tree of 10 to 30 ft. in height, with somewhat oval, smooth, entire leaves, white, narrow-petalled flowers in drooping racemes, and oval, purple drupes, growing wild from Pennsylvania southward to the gulf of Mexico. It belongs to the ^oleacece, and is hence a rela- tive of the olive and the ash. Its light and pure clusters of blossoms are not only sugges- tive of its English name, but of the generic title of cJiionanthus, blossoms of the snow. It is of rather slow growth, and is not hardy north of central New York ; but where it will endure Fringe Tree (Chionanthus Virginica). the climate it is well worthy of cultivation. Some of the nursery catalogues offer the va- rieties angustifolia, latifolia, and maritima, which differ somewhat from the type in size and shape of the leaves and flowers. FRIO, a S. W. county of Texas, intersected by the Rio Frio and Rio San Miguel; area, 1,050 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 309, of whom 15 were colored. The surface is diversified ; there is good farming land along the rivers, and con- siderable timber. Stock raising is the leading pursuit. The chief productions in 1870 were 8,080 bushels of Indian corn and 13,948 Ibs. of wool. There were 1,273 horses, 60,834 cat- tle, 5,284 sheep, and 2,095 swine. FRISIANS, a Germanic people, inhabiting the N. W. coasts of Germany, portions of Holland, and some adjacent islands. The Romans called them Frisii ; Ptolemy, Qpiaaior, the ancient Norsemen, Frisir ; the Anglo-Saxons, Fresena cyn ; the old High Germans, Frieson ; and the ancient codes of the people, Frisa or Fresa. Their name is believed to signify free. Caesar