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Electromagnetic Nanomaterials Properties and
Applications 1st Edition Inamuddin Digital Instant
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Author(s): Inamuddin, Tariq Altalhi
ISBN(s): 9781394166220, 1394166222
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 76.30 MB
Year: 2023
Language: english
Electromagnetic Metamaterials
 Scrivener Publishing
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Electromagnetic Metamaterials

Properties and Applications

Edited by
Inamuddin
Department of Applied Chemistry, Zakir Husain College of Engineering and
Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
and
Tariq Altalhi
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
This edition first published 2023 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA
and Scrivener Publishing LLC, 100 Cummings Center, Suite 541J, Beverly, MA 01915, USA
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 Contents

Preface xv
1 Metamaterial-Based Antenna and Absorbers in THz Range 1
M. R. Nigil and R. Thiruvengadathan
1.1 Introduction 2
1.1.1 Terahertz Region 2
1.1.2 Metamaterials 2
1.1.3 Classification of Metamaterials 3
1.1.3.1 Epsilon-Negative Metamaterials 4
1.1.3.2 Mu-Negative Metamaterials 6
1.1.3.3 Double-Negative Metamaterials 6
1.2 Design Approach 9
1.2.1 Resonant Approach 9
1.2.2 Non-Resonant Approach 10
1.2.3 Hybrid Approach 10
1.3 Applications 11
1.3.1 Metamaterial Absorbers 11
1.3.1.1 Switchable Absorbers-Reflectors 12
1.3.1.2 Switchable Absorbers 13
1.3.1.3 Tuneable Absorbers 14
1.3.2 Metamaterial Antenna 14
1.3.2.1 Miniaturization 15
1.3.2.2 Gain and Bandwidth Improvement 17
1.3.2.3 Circular Polarization 21
1.3.2.4 Isolation 23
1.4 Conclusion 24
References 26

v
vi Contents

2 Chiral Metamaterials 33
Wasefa Begum, Monohar Hossain Mondal, Ujjwal Mandal
and Bidyut Saha
2.1 Introduction 34
2.2 Fundamentals of Chiral Metamaterials and Optical Activity
Control 35
2.3 Construction of Chiral Metamaterial 36
2.4 Applications 40
2.4.1 Chiral Metamaterials in the Chiral Sensing 40
2.4.2 Reconfigurable Chiral Metamaterial 41
2.4.3 Chiral Metamaterial Absorber 43
2.4.4 Applications of Chiral Metamaterial as
Multifunctional Sensors 44
2.4.4.1 Applications of Chiral Metamaterial as
Temperature, Humidity, and Moisture Sensors 45
2.5 Conclusion and Future Perspective 46
Acknowledgment 46
References 47
3 Metamaterial Perfect Absorbers for Biosensing Applications 53
Habibe Durmaz and Ahmet Murat Erturan
3.1 Introduction 54
3.1.1 Theoretical Backgrounds 56
3.1.1.1 Impedance Matching Theory 56
3.1.1.2 Interference Theory 58
3.1.2 Metamaterial Designs 60
3.1.2.1 Equivalent Circuit and Impedance Matching
in Metamaterial Perfect Absorbers 61
3.1.2.2 Transmission Line Theory 63
3.1.3 Biosensing with Metamaterial Perfect Absorbers 64
3.1.3.1 Refractive Index 65
3.1.3.2 Surface-Enhanced Infrared Absorption 70
3.2 Conclusion and Future Work 76
References 76
4 Insights and Applications of Double Positive Medium
Metamaterials 85
Anupras Manwar, Tanmay Bhongade, Prasad Kulkarni,
Ajinkya Satdive, Saurabh Tayde, Bhagwan Toksha,
Aniruddha Chatterjee and Shravanti Joshi
4.1 Introduction 86
 Contents vii

4.2 Insights on the Electromagnetic Metamaterials 87

4.3 Applications of DPS Metamaterials 89
4.4 Conclusion 96
Acknowledgments 96
References 96
5 Study on Application of Photonic Metamaterial 101
Anupama Rajput and Amrinder kaur
5.1 Introduction 101
5.2 Types of Metamaterials 102
5.3 Negative Index Metamaterial 104
5.4 Terahertz Metamaterials 105
5.5 Plasmonic Materials 107
5.6 Applications 110
5.6.1 In Optical Field 110
5.6.2 In Medical Devices 111
5.6.3 In Aerospace 112
5.6.4 In Solar Power Management 112
5.7 Conclusion 113
References 114
6 Theoretical Models of Metamaterial 119
Hira Munir and Areeba Kashaf
6.1 Introduction 120
6.2 Background of Metamaterials 121
6.3 Theoretical Models of Metamaterials 122
6.3.1 Lumped Equivalent Circuit Model 123
6.3.2 Effective Medium Theory 125
6.3.3 Transmission Line Theory 126
6.3.4 Coupled-Mode Theory 128
6.3.5 Interference Theory 130
6.3.6 Casimir-Lifshitz Theory 131
6.4 Conclusion 133
References 133
7 Frequency Bands Metamaterials 137
D. Vasanth Kumar, N. Srinivasan, A. Saravanakumar,
M. Ramesh and L. Rajeshkumar
7.1 Introduction 138
7.2 Frequency Bands Metamaterials 138
7.2.1 EM Metamaterials 139
viii Contents

7.2.2 Metamaterial Response Tuning 139

7.2.2.1 Persistent Tuning 140
7.2.3 Spectroscopic Investigation 141
7.2.4 Optical Metamaterials 141
7.2.5 Optical Materials and Electronic Structures 142
7.2.6 Optical Properties of Metals 143
7.2.7 Metal-Dielectric Composites 143
7.2.8 Acoustic Metamaterials 145
7.2.9 Elastic Metamaterials 146
7.3 Penta Metamaterials 147
7.4 Reconfigurable Metamaterials for Different Geometrics 150
7.4.1 3D Freestanding Reconfigurable Metamaterial 151
7.4.2 Reconfigurable EM Metamaterials 153
7.5 Conclusion 154
References 155
8 Metamaterials for Cloaking Devices 165
M. Rizwan, M. W. Yasin, Q. Ali and A. Ayub
8.1 Introduction 165
8.2 What is Cloaking and Invisibility? 166
8.3 Basic Concepts of Cloaking 167
8.4 Design and Simulation of Metamaterial Invisibility Cloak 168
8.5 Types of Cloaking 170
8.5.1 Optical Cloaking 170
8.5.2 Acoustic Cloaking 172
8.5.3 Elastic Cloaking 173
8.5.4 Thermal Cloaking 175
8.5.5 Mass Diffusion Cloaking 176
8.5.6 Light Diffusion Cloaking 176
8.5.7 Multifunctional Cloaking 177
8.6 Cloaking Techniques 178
8.6.1 Scattering Cancelation Method 178
8.6.2 Coordinate Transformation Technique 179
8.6.3 Transmission 180
8.6.4 Other Cloaking Techniques 180
8.7 Conclusion 181
References 182
9 Single Negative Metamaterials 185
M. Rizwan, U. Sabahat, F. Tehreem and A. Ayub
9.1 Introduction 185
 Contents ix

9.2 Classification of Metamaterials 187

9.3 Types of Metamaterials 189
9.3.1 Electromagnetic Metamaterials 189
9.3.2 Negative Refractive Index 190
9.4 Different Classes of Electromagnetic Metamaterials 192
9.4.1 Double Negative Metamaterials 192
9.4.2 Single Negative Metamaterials 194
9.4.3 Chiral Metamaterials 194
9.4.4 Hyperbolic Metamaterials 195
9.5 Applications 201
9.6 Conclusion 203
References 203
10 Negative-Index Metamaterials 205
Rajesh Giri and Ritu Payal
10.1 Introduction 205
10.2 The Journey from Microwave Frequency to
Electromagnetic Radiation 206
10.3 Experimentation to Justify Negative Refraction 208
10.3.1 Reverse Propagation 210
10.3.2 Properties of NIMs 210
10.4 Electromagnetic Response of Materials 211
10.5 Application of NIMs 213
10.6 Conclusions 214
Acknowledgments 214
References 214
11 Properties and Applications of Electromagnetic Metamaterials 219
Km. Rachna and Flomo L. Gbawoquiya
11.1 Introduction 220
11.2 Hyperbolic Metamaterials 226
11.3 Properties of Metamaterials 227
11.4 Application of Metamaterials 230
11.5 Single Negative Metamaterials 233
11.6 Hyperbolic Metamaterials 234
11.7 Classes of Metamaterials 237
11.8 Electromagnetic Metamaterials 238
11.9 Terahertz Metamaterials 241
11.10 Photonic Metamaterials 243
11.11 Tunable Metamaterial 244
x
.
Contents

11.12 Types of Tunable Metamaterials 245

11.13 Nonlinear Metamaterials 248
11.14 Absorber of Metamaterial 250
11.15 Acoustic Metamaterials 251
References 255
12 Plasmonic Metamaterials 261
M. Rizwan, A. Ayub, M. Sheeza and H. M. Naeem Ullah
12.1 Introduction 261
12.2 Negative Refraction and Refractive Indexes 263
12.3 Fundamentals of Plasmonics 265
12.3.1 Surface Plasmon Polaritons 265
12.3.2 Localized Surface Plasmons 267
12.3.3 Applications of Plasmonics 269
12.4 Types of Plasmonics Metamaterials 270
12.4.1 Graphene-Base Plasmonic Metamaterials 270
12.4.2 Nanorod Plasmonic Metamaterials 271
12.4.3 Plasmonic Metal Surfaces 272
12.4.4 Self-Assembled Plasmonic Metamaterials 273
12.4.5 Nonlinear Plasmonic Materials 274
12.4.6 2D-Plasmonic Metamaterials 275
12.5 Applications of Plasmonics Metamaterials 276
12.5.1 Nanochemistry 276
12.5.2 Biosensing 277
12.5.3 Filters 278
12.5.4 Planner Ring Resonator 279
12.5.5 Optical Computing 280
12.5.6 Photovoltaics 281
12.6 Conclusion 282
References 282
13 Nonlinear Metamaterials 287
M. Rizwan, H. Hameed, T. Hashmi and A. Ayub
13.1 Introduction 287
13.2 Nonlinear Effects in Metamaterials 290
13.3 Design of Nonlinear Metamaterials 292
13.3.1 Liquid Crystal-Based Nonlinear Metamaterials 293
13.3.2 Ferrite-Based Tunable Metamaterials 293
13.3.3 Varactor/Capacitor-Loaded Tunable Metamaterials 294
13.3.4 Other Tunable Metamaterials 294
13.4 Nonlinear Properties of Metamaterials 295
 Contents xi

13.5 Types of Nonlinear Metamaterials 297

13.5.1 Nonlinear Electric Materials 297
13.5.2 Nonlinear Magnetic Metamaterials 299
13.5.3 Plasmonic Nonlinear Metamaterials 301
13.5.4 Dielectric Nonlinear Metamaterials 301
13.6 Applications 302
13.6.1 Tunable Split-Ring Resonators for Nonlinear
Negative-Index Metamaterials 302
13.6.2 SRR Microwave Nonlinear Tunable Metamaterials 303
13.7 Overview of Nonlinear Metamaterials 304
13.8 Conclusion 304
References 305
14 Promising Future of Tunable Metamaterials 309
Tanveer Ahmad Wani and A. Geetha Bhavani
14.1 Introduction 310
14.1.1 Examples of Metamaterials 311
14.1.1.1 Electromagnetic Metamaterials 312
14.1.1.2 Chiral Metamaterials 312
14.1.1.3 Terahertz Metamaterials 312
14.1.1.4 Photonic Metamaterials 313
14.1.1.5 Tunable Metamaterials 313
14.1.1.6 Frequency Selective Surface
Based-Metamaterials (FSS) 313
14.1.1.7 Nonlinear Metamaterials 313
14.2 Tuning Methods 313
14.2.1 Tuning by Additional Materials 314
14.2.2 Tuning by Changing the Structural Geometry 314
14.2.3 Tuning by Changing the Constituent Materials 315
14.2.4 Tuning by Changing of the Surrounding
Environment 315
14.3 Types of Tunable Metamaterials 315
14.3.1 Thermally Tunable Metamaterials 315
14.3.1.1 Optically Driven Tunable
Metamaterials 315
14.3.2 Structurally Deformable Metamaterials 316
14.3.3 Electrically Tunable Metamaterials 316
14.4 Significant Developments 316
14.4.1 Vehicles with Mobile Broadband 317
14.4.2 Transportation Security Administration 317
14.4.3 Tracking Planes, Trains, and Automobiles 317
xii Contents

14.4.4 Holographic Something 317

14.4.5 Wireless Charging with Metamaterials 317
14.4.6 Seeing Around Corners with Radar 317
14.4.7 Manipulating Light 317
14.4.8 Sound-Proof ‘Invisible Window’ 318
14.4.9 Terahertz Instruments 318
14.5 Future 318
14.6 Conclusion 320
References 321
15 Metamaterials for Sound Filtering 327
Sneha Kagale, Radhika Malkar, Manishkumar Tiwari
and Pravin D. Patil
15.1 Introduction 327
15.1.1 Types of Metamaterials 328
15.1.1.1 Piezoelectric Metamaterial 329
15.1.1.2 Electromagnetic Metamaterial 329
15.1.1.3 Chiral Metamaterial 329
15.1.1.4 Nonlinear Metamaterial 329
15.1.1.5 Terahertz Metamaterial 330
15.1.1.6 Acoustic Metamaterial 330
15.1.1.7 Photonic Metamaterial 330
15.2 Acoustic Metamaterials 330
15.2.1 Types and Applications of Acoustic Metamaterials 333
15.3 Phononic Crystals 333
15.4 Metamaterials for Sound Filtering 334
15.4.1 Fabrication and Assembly of Metamaterials for
Sound Filtering and Attenuation 335
15.4.2 Fabrication of AMM and PC 336
15.4.3 Assembly of AMM and PC 337
15.5 Conclusion 337
References 338
16 Radar Cross-Section Reducing Metamaterials 341
Samson Rwahwire and Ivan Ssebagala
16.1 Introduction 341
16.1.1 The Electromagnetic Radiation and Spectrum 343
16.2 Radiodetection and Ranging 344
16.3 RADAR Cross-Section 345
16.3.1 Use of Radar-Absorbing Materials 348
16.3.2 Polarization of the Impinging/Illuminating Wave 352
 Contents xiii

16.3.3 Active Cancellation of the Scattered

Field/Backscatter 355
16.3.4 Target/Purpose Shaping 356
16.4 Conclusion and Outlook 358
References 359
Index 363
 Preface

In recent years, metamaterials have become a hot topic in the scientific com-
munity due to their remarkable electromagnetic properties. Metamaterials
have the ability to alter electromagnetic and acoustic waves in ways that
bulk materials cannot. The metamaterials have a wide range of potential
applications, including remote aerospace applications, medical appliances,
sensor detectors and monitoring devices of infrastructure, crowd handling,
smart solar panels, radomes, high-gain antennas lenses, high-frequency
communication on the battlefield, ultrasonic detectors, and structures to
shield earthquakes. A wide range of disciplines is involved in metamaterial
research, including electromagnetics and electrical engineering, classical
optics, microwave, and antenna engineering, solid-state physics, material
sciences, and optoelectronics. This book presents an overview of metama-
terials’ current state of development in several domains of application.
Chapter 1 focuses on applications of metamaterials in the terahertz
range, especially summarizing the performance attributes such as the gain,
bandwidth, polarization, and isolation of the antenna by integrating meta-
materials and various types of metamaterial-based absorbers. It also dis-
cusses their ability to manipulate and control electromagnetic waves.
Chapter 2 discusses the fundamentals of chiral metamaterial (CMM),
its properties, constructions, applications, and recent advancements in the
modern era. CMMs have many advantages, like design flexibility, excel-
lent customized properties, giant optical activity, tuneability, etc., which
makes them suitable for applications in imaging, bio-sensing, polarization
manipulation, absorption, and other fields.
Chapter 3 reviews the theory of Metamaterial Absorbers (MMAs) and
their applications in bio- and chemical sensing in mid-IR frequencies. The
theoretical background on the design of MMAs is given in detail. In addi-
tion, bio- and chemical detection approaches based on Surface-Enhanced
Infrared Spectroscopy (SEIRA) and refractive index change are discussed.

xv
xvi Preface

Chapter 4 provides a deeper understanding of double-positive medium

metamaterials, their inherent features, and their various applications in
sensors, photonic devices, etc. In addition, different types of metamaterials
are discussed and compared with double-positive medium metamaterials,
highlighting their merits over widely discussed double-negative medium
metamaterials.
Chapter 5 discusses various types of photonic metamaterials and their
application in life. Ways to alter the properties of this man-made mate-
rial by changing its composition is also explained. Application of meta-
materials in various areas, such as the health care industry, optical field,
and aerospace, are all detailed. It signifies the composition, properties, and
application of metamaterials.
Chapter 6 discusses the diverse topic of metamaterials with the support
of theoretical models. Each theory employs a unique viewpoint to describe
the same device. The main focus here is to communicate the drawbacks
and benefits of available models. Additionally, the unusual advances pro-
posed in metamaterials are discussed in detail.
Chapter 7 discusses the limitless potential of metamaterials to trigger a
wide variety of applications, including band gaps, cloaking devices, elec-
tromagnetic, transformation elastodynamics, etc. Considering the recent
proliferation of metamaterials and the growing interest in the associated
research, three important milestones are also discussed in this chapter.
Chapter 8 discusses the basic concept of metamaterial cloaking and
invisibility, and its design and simulation are explained. Types of cloaking,
such as optical cloaking, acoustic cloaking, thermal cloaking, elastic cloak-
ing, and mass diffusion cloaking, multifunctional cloaking, light diffusion
cloaking, are explained. Also reviewed are various techniques of metama-
terial cloaking, which includes scattering line cancellation, transmission
line technique, coordinate transformation technique, and others.
Chapter 9 discusses different kinds of metamaterials, such as electro-
magnetic metamaterial, double-negative metamaterials, chiral metama-
terials, and semiconductor metamaterials. Fundamental equations of
metamaterials and the development of single negative metamaterials are
explained along with their application.
Chapter 10 discusses negative-index metamaterials. Various basic con-
cepts and theories of metamaterials, as well as scientific importance, are
covered in detail. A primary focus is on the different aspects of NIMs and
their potential applications in different domains, which allows access to
new dimensions of material response.
Chapter 11 discusses the various kinds of electromagnetic metamateri-
als, their properties, uses, and types. The importance of an in-depth study
 Preface xvii

of metamaterials and their potential applications in numerous aspects of

life is explored. Moreover, several traditional metamaterials that are tun-
able using multiple design techniques are discussed.
Chapter 12 discusses the plasmonic materials and their fundamentals,
such as negative refractive index and negative permeability. Surface plas-
mon polariton and localized surface plasmon are also explained. Different
types of plasmonic materials, including graphene-based plasmonic meta-
materials, nanorod plasmonic metamaterials, plasmonic meta-surfaces,
self assemble plasmonic metamaterials, non-linear plasmonic materials,
2D plasmonic metamaterials are presented in detail. Furthermore, the
chapter delves into the applications of these plasmonic metamaterials in
nanochemistry, biosensing, photovoltaics, filter, planner ring resonator,
and optical computing.
Chapter 13 explains the nonlinear effects of the metamaterial. Types of
nonlinear metamaterials such as ferrite-based metamaterials, plasmonic
metamaterials, dielectric materials, and some tunable nonlinear metama-
terials are discussed. Applications of nonlinear metamaterials in Spling
Ring Resonators (SRR) and an overall overview of nonlinear metamateri-
als are provided.
Chapter 14 discusses tunable metamaterials. The chapter also highlights
the substantial developments that have been made in the fabrication and
design of these materials.
Chapter 15 discusses metamaterials and their types. Further, the role
of metamaterials in sound filtering is discussed with a focus on acoustics
metamaterials. Additionally, phononic crystals are discussed in detail,
along with their applications. Later, the fabrication and assembly of meta-
materials used for sound filtering are discussed.
Chapter 16 presents concepts of metamaterial, radar technology, Radar
Cross-Section Reduction (RCS), and different techniques of RCS reduc-
tion. Finally, the chapter concludes with future outlooks based on the cur-
rent progress and advancements in metamaterials for radar cross-section
reduction.
Our thanks go to Wiley and Scrivener Publishing for their continuous
support and guidance.

Inamuddin
Department of Applied Chemistry, Zakir Husain College of Engineering
and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
Tariq Altalhi
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University,
Taif, Saudi Arabia
Discovering Diverse Content Through
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they can manage to expose the nostrils to the surface without
appearing. When they do rise, it is in the same noiseless, almost
imperceptible manner, and in the same posture as they went down.
Occasionally they fly, or rather flutter with much flapping of wings,
and apparently painful exertion, across the pond, splashing the
surface as they go; and I have seen one take a higher flight across
the road to the lower water. When undisturbed, they sit long in one
place, and spend a good deal of time in smoothing their plumage.
The stomach of the specimen I obtained, a male, from which the
description was taken, contained only seeds mostly comminuted.

From a recent letter of Mr. Hill’s I extract the following notes. “We
have certainly two if not three different Pond Ducks. With two I am
familiarly acquainted. One is a very beautiful little bird, with such a
prevalence of yellow and red ochre in the plumage, and with the
usual crescent shaped ocellated markings of the Duck tribe, so dark,
as to give it a very quail-like appearance. It has in consequence
been commonly designated the Quail-duck.[128] The secondaries of
the wing are white; the head is dappled black and ochry-white, and
the bill is a brilliant cobalt-blue. The tail is stiff and curved upwards,
with (I think) 16 black feathers which radiate broad and distinct,
without any lapping of one feather over another. In the nestling bird
the feathers are differently formed. They are unwebbed in the centre
of the shaft, the terminal plumes being few, and curved like the Υ of
the Greek alphabet.
[128] Hence my friend proposes to name it Erismatura ortygoides.

“The other is a short squat Duck, almost square in form, the

breadth of its body being equal to its length, and uniformly coloured
wood-brown;—a description of the plumage not perhaps very
precise, but so much so with respect to the ordinary hue of the bark
of trees, as to make it sufficiently indicative of the prevailing colour.
The centre shafts of the tail of this bird terminate in long stiff spines,
as stiff and as long as those of a horse-comb.
 “I shall not venture to say how far similarity of structure in the tail
of the Erismaturine family of Ducks with that of the Cormorant,
indicates a similarity in the application of this organ for diving
purposes, as Mr. Eyton has conjectured; but a bird kept in a small
pool in a flower garden, into which pond-weeds were daily thrown,
particularly chara and duck-weed, (pistiaceæ) upon which it was
supposed to feed, would lead me to think that one important purpose
that this remarkably constructed organ was applied to, was to move
aside the dense vegetation of shallow pools in which it fed. The habit
of this bird was to turn round quick. By this motion it opened out the
weeds on the surface, so graphically described by Shakspeare as
‘the green mantle of the standing pool,’—and made a clear space for
‘swithering with its neb,’ as Lincolnshire decoy-keepers would say. It
dived frequently, and the period it remained submerged was
prodigiously long. It swam backward as frequently as forward, and, I
apprehend, found its peculiarly made tail a powerful lever in dilating
the space behind it. The little garden, in which the bird was kept, that
furnished me with these observations, was a fair representation of its
natural haunts. Tufts of flowers, composed of lilies, kincalmias, and
Indian-shot, with intermixtures of young vegetating bananas, were an
apt substitute for the heliconias, nymphæas, cyperaceæ, juncales,
and marantaceous plants, among which it delighted when wild and at
large. It sometimes crept on the bank, and sheltered itself among the
bowery herbage; but the clots of damp weed, strewn around its
pond, were its favourite resting place when out of the water; and
there it sat crouching, not sitting upright as the Grebe does. In its
natural haunts it is occasionally flushed, but its flight is exceedingly
short, not usually more than from the bank into the mantling herbage
of the pond, where it instantly disappears in those long submersions
I have already noticed.”

The remaining Anatidæ which have been observed in Jamaica, I

shall dismiss with a bare enumeration, furnished by my esteemed
friend to whom this work is so deeply indebted. Though some of
them have fallen under my own notice, I have nothing to add to their
known history. I treat them in this summary manner, the more
willingly, because my friend is himself preparing for the press a
treatise on the migratory birds of Jamaica, the fruit of many years’
close observation.
Chen hyperboreus, Snow Goose.
Anser Canadensis, Canada Goose.
Dafila acuta, Pintail.
Pœcilonetta Bahamensis, Ilathera Duck.
Mareca Americana, Wigeon.
Aix sponsa, Summer Duck.
Querquedula Carolinensis, Greenwing Teal.
Rhynchaspis clypeata, Shoveler.
Chaulelasmus streperus, Gadwall.
Anas obscura, Dusky Duck.
” boschas, Mallard.
Cairina moschata, Muscovy Duck.
Oidemia perspicillata, Surf Duck (Dr. Chamb.).
Fuligula Americana, Pochard.
” affinis, Scaup Duck.
” rufitorques, Tufted Duck.
Nyroca leucophthalma, White-eyed Duck.

Fam.—PELECANIDÆ. (The Pelicans.)

RUFOUS-NECKED PELICAN.[129]

Pelecanus fuscus.—Linn.
Aud. pl. 251.
[129] Length 47 inches, expanse 79½, flexure 18½, tail 5, rictus 12½,
tarsus 3¼, middle toe 4¼.

The high-road from Bluefields to Savanna le Mar winds round the

broad bend of the coast, called Bluefields Bay; for nearly half the
distance, running close to the shore, which in some parts is a low
sandy beach, in others, rocky and precipitous. About a mile from
Bluefields the road recedes about a hundred yards from the sea, the
intervening space being occupied by tall and dense wood, consisting
chiefly of manchioneel, crablight, sweet-wood, and tropic-birch,
much tangled by an underwood of briers and supple-jacks. As we
approach the brow of the cliff, we perceive that the descent, just
here, is not a perpendicular rock, but is a very steep slope, covered
with a loose and shifting rubble, very unpleasant and even
dangerous to the feet. Two enormous birches and a fig, at some
distance from each other, springing out of the brow, spread their
immense boughs even over the sea that boils among the rocks
beneath; and the observer needs no informant to tell him that these
trees are occupied as resting places by many large birds. The earth,
and bushes, and rocks beneath, are splashed widely with white
ordure, the fishy fetor of which is diffused all through the woods, and
is but too perceptible even at the highroad. Scattered upon the
ground lie the long bones, bleached in the wind, and the sable
feathers, of several Frigate-birds, who met their death where they
had been accustomed to live; the victims perhaps of disease, or
perhaps of mutual encounters. High up on the loftiest and outmost
limbs sit many Pelicans, some preening their plumage, others, with
the long beak resting on the breast, enjoying a sluggish repose.
Frigates and Boobies are associated with them, but of these we shall
speak presently.
From many visits to this place, which commonly goes by the name
of the Pelican hole, I have observed that the Pelicans which resort
hither, leave the roost at early dawn, and fish for two or three hours;
they return about eight o’clock and rest on the roosting trees until
about eleven; then they go abroad again and fish along the shore or
sit lazily on the rocking sea, till dusk, when in long strings they fly
wearily homeward, and spend the night upon their favourite trees.
It is a pleasant sight to see a flock of Pelicans fishing. A dozen or
more are flying on heavy, flagging wing over the sea, the long neck
doubled on the back, so that the beak seems to protrude from the
breast. Suddenly, a little ruffling of the water arrests their attention;
and, with wings half-closed, down each plunges with a resounding
plash, and in an instant emerges to the surface with a fish. The beak
is held aloft, a snap or two is made, the huge pouch is seen for a
moment distended, then collapses as before; and heavily the bird
rises to wing, and again beats over the surface with its fellows. It is
worthy of observation that the Pelican invariably performs a
somerset under the surface; for descending, as he always does,
diagonally, not perpendicularly, the head emerges looking in the
opposite direction to that in which it was looking before. When the
morning appetite is sated, they sit calmly on the heaving surface,
looking much like a miniature fleet.
In the evening, as I have stated, we see them pursuing their
laborious course to repose. Standing at the door of Bluefields, which
from a slight elevation, commands a wide prospect of the beautiful
Bay, I have often watched, in the evening,—while the sun, sinking
among his gilded piles and peaks of cloud on the horizon-sea,
leaves the air refreshingly cool and balmy, while the dying sea-
breeze scarcely avails to break the glassy reflection of the surface,—
the straggling flocks of Pelicans, from a dozen to forty or fifty,
passing slowly along over the shore. On such occasions, they
manifest a decided tendency to form long continuous strings, like
ducks. When the flocks are beating for fish, or sailing round and
round on the watch, there is no such arrangement, but all circle in a
confusion equal to that of the planets of the Ptolemaic system. Yet at
any time of the day, in taking a lengthened flight, whether shifting
their locality, or slowly sweeping over the sea, they usually take a
lineal order.
In flying thus in lines, I have been struck with the unity which they
manifest in their motions: the flight is performed by alternate intervals
of heavy flappings, and sailing on outstretched motionless wing; and
the resumption or suspension of the one or the other state, is
regulated by the leading bird of the line. For example; the first begins
to flap; in an instant the second begins, then the third, then the
fourth, and so on, with perfect regularity of succession; and neither
ceases till the first does, and then only each in his own turn. That this
does not depend on the period of each motion being constant, is
shown by the fact, that the duration of either state is very varying and
arbitrary. If a bird be following the same course, near at hand, but not
within the line, he does not regard the succession at all, but governs
his own motion.
The Pelican on alighting on the water to swim, brings his feet,
which before had been stretched out behind, into a standing position,
and, as it were, slides along the surface, for several yards before he
swims.
Voracious and formidable as is the Pelican to the smaller of the
finny races, he is not without his enemies among them. I once
observed a large Shark gliding along at the surface of the water near
a flock of swimming Pelicans, wilily endeavouring to approach some
unwary one within seizing distance, his triangular dorsal cutting the
water and revealing his progress, and his intentions. The Pelicans
were alert, however, and did not choose a near acquaintance with
their insidious admirer, each one rising into safety upon the wing as
he approached. I fear he went without his supper on that occasion.
The following interesting note, I quote from a valuable paper by
Mr. Hill, “On the aerating powers of birds,” read at a meeting of the
Jamaica Society, June 1st, 1840. “The facility with which the Pelican
resigns itself to fasting, or rouses itself to feasting, was very
interestingly exhibited to me in a bird, I saw the other day at Passage
Fort. It was a domesticated Pelican, of mature age: it winged
backward and forward, visiting the wild flocks, and feeding with them
in the harbour during the day, and withdrew from them to roost in its
master’s yard during the night. In that period of restraint, when it was
necessary to observe the caution of drawing its quill feathers, to
keep it within very diminished capabilities of flight, until it became
familiar and domesticated, it was wholly dependent on the fish
provided for it by the fishermen of the beach. Sunday was no fishing
day with these men; and this was regularly a day on which there
were no supplies for the Pelican. It became in time so conscious of
the recurrence of this fast-day, that although at all other times it went
daily down to the sea-side to wait the coming in of the canoes, on
the seventh day it never stirred from the recumbent trunk of a tree on
which it roosted within the yard. It had been found necessary to
pluck its wing within the last two or three months to restrain it within
bounds, in consequence of its absence latterly with the wild birds for
several days in succession; and in this state it was reduced as
formerly to depend on the fishermen for food. The old habit of
abstinence and drowsy repose on the Sundays again recurred, and
when I saw it, it was once more a tranquil observer of the rest, and
with it the fast, of the Sabbath day.”
Robinson describes one in captivity, as “a bold fierce bird, which
would snap his beak not only at dogs and other small animals, but
even at men and horses, that came inadvertently within his reach.”
(MSS.)
The Pelican is sometimes taken much in the same manner as
Gannets in England. A fish is fastened to a board, which is swiftly
drawn through the sea by a canoe under sail; the Pelican plunges
down upon it, and breaks his neck with the violence of the contact.
Although the beak is not pointed, but hooked at the extremity, Sam
has assured me that it has been known to be driven through the soft
wood of the cotton tree, when that has been used for the board. The
flesh is eaten by some of the negroes, notwithstanding its
insupportable fishy odour; to overcome which in some degree, they
bury it for some hours in the sand of the beach, after which they
subject it to three or four boilings before it is eaten.
The term fuscus is but poorly applicable to this bird in adult
plumage: the long and pointed feathers, being black with a central
stripe of pure white, give a hue rather hoary or silvery than fuscous;
and the pale yellow head, and deep chestnut neck, margined with a
white edging, adds a considerable degree of beauty to the whole.
I dissected a female in May; an operation which though performed
in the open air, was almost sufficient to take away the breath. I found
the stomach a long capacious sac without constriction, with thick
muscular walls; there was a round cavity just beyond the pyloric
bend; the intestinal canal was nearly uniform in size, slender, but
long, with many convolutions; it measured 99 inches; near the
middle was a curious conformation, which I have observed in the
intestine of the Ardeadæ; as though the tube had been abruptly
terminated and closed, and another tube let in at the side of the
former a little way from the end, which end thus projected like a teat.
Two cæca, about 1½ inch long when distended. The appearance of
the viscera corresponded in most particulars to that described by
Prof. Owen (Pr. Zool. Soc. 1835) in P. rufescens. The right lobe of
the liver was three or four times greater in volume than the left; the
former had its edges rounded; the latter was sub-globose. The gall-
bladder small; the gall deep brown-yellow. The spleen was large,
oval, about 1¾ by 1¼, soft, and greenish-black. Kidneys about
equal, 2 inches by 1 inch. The fat about the viscera, which was in
series of small lumps, was of a deep orange, or almost salmon-red. I
may add that our species seems much more arboreal than that
described by Prof. Owen. On bending the heel-joint, so as to bring
the tarsus up towards the tibia, the toes were strongly incurved; and
on my placing a stick beneath the toes, and then forcibly bending the
heel, the stick was grasped with so much power that it could with
difficulty be dragged away. I perceived from the form which the foot
assumed under such circumstances, that the hind toe is opposed to
the others in grasping or perching, notwithstanding their continuity of
membrane; the web which connects the hind-toe being wide enough
to admit an object like the branch of a tree, when the toes are
opposed.
The tongue is singularly minute; the rami of the hyoïd bone,
passing on each side of the larynx, are simply enveloped in the
membranes of the pouch, and at their convergence, there is a
minute projecting point of cartilage about ¹⁄₆ inch long, which is the
only apology for a tongue.
I was astonished to observe that the whole inner surface of the
skin on the trunk, was cellular, especially on the breast; composing
an immense congeries of membranous cells, inflated with air. The
pouch held seventeen pints of water, which when full dripped out at a
wound in the fore-arm.

DUSKY BOOBY.[130]
 Sula fusca.
Pelecanus sula, Linn.—Aud. pl. 207.
Sula fusca, Briss.

[130] Length 29 inches, expanse 58, flexure 14¾, tail 7¾, rictus 4⁸⁄₁₀,
tarsus 1½, middle toe 3.

The trees described in the preceding article as constituting the

lodging place of the Pelicans, are frequented also, though less
regularly, by a considerable number of these Boobies. They usually
huddle together, in little groups, sitting closely side by side, so that
four and five may frequently be brought down at a shot.
I have invariably found the stomachs of those thus obtained, quite
empty, and as the Frigate-birds assemble on the same trees, I
conjecture that the Boobies examined had been compelled to
disgorge the prey they had taken, by the assaults of their powerful
neighbours: to avoid whose attacks, probably, they took refuge on
the trees. As they sit, they frequently utter a loud croaking cackle.
One which was disabled, manifested great ferocity, striking forcibly
with the opened beak, endeavouring to pierce with its very acute
points, as well as to cut with its keen saw-like edges. It had the
sagacity to neglect a stick presented, and strike at the hand that held
it; and my fingers could testify to the lacerating power of their
formidable weapon.
The tails of all the specimens that fell into my hands, were much
worn at the extremity; probably from incubation on the rocks. The
use of the very singular pectination of the middle toe, was indicated,
by its being choked up in each one with down. The great length of
the body in these birds is particularly observable when the
integuments are removed. In one specimen, I found lying among the
folds of the intestines, a tape-worm, about three feet in length.

The above is the only Sula that we know anything of, about the
coast of Westmoreland; but Mr. Hill has identified three others from
the Pedro Kays, some of which appear to frequent the little Kays of
the coast near Kingston. I believe they are the Sula fiber, or drab-
coloured Booby, S. piscator, or White Booby, and S. parva, or Black
and white Booby. Of this last Mr. Hill has a pair domesticated, of
whose habits he has favoured me with the following pleasing notes.
“The sympathy shewn by gregarious birds for their wounded
companions is usually never more strongly manifested than in the
Boobies. In the wanton sport of shooting at them when sailing past
the kays and islets they resort to, there are few who have not
witnessed the extraordinary efforts made by the clamorous flock to
assist a wounded bird, when fluttering in the water, and unable to
regain the wing. An accident which happened to one of the two
Boobies we have in our yard, gave us an opportunity of seeing traits
of this feeling, and of its attendant emotions. My little nephew, in
chasing with a small whip one of our birds, entangled the lash about
its wing, and snapped the arm-bone. The one bird not alone shewed
sympathy for the other, but exhibited curiosity about the nature and
character of the accident. Our two birds are male and female. The
wounded Booby withdrew into a lonely part of the yard, and stood
there drooping. The female sought him as soon as she heard his cry
of agony, and after ascertaining, by surveying him all round, that the
injury was in the wing, proceeded to prevail on him to move the limb,
that she might see whether he was really disabled beyond the power
of using it for flight. After a quacking honk or two, as a call to do
something required of him, the female stretched out one of her
wings;—the wounded male imitated her, and, making an effort,
moved out, in some sort of way, the wounded member to its full
length. He was now required by a corresponding movement to raise
it:—he raised the broken arm, but the wing could not be elevated.
The curiosity of the female was at a standstill. After a moment’s
pause, her wounded companion was persuaded to make another
trial at imitation, and to give the wings some three or four good flaps.
He followed the given signal, gave the required beats upon the air
with so thorough a good will, to meet the wishes of his curious mate,
that he twirled the broken wing quite round, and turned it inside out.
The mischief was prodigiously increased. It was now necessary to
put a stop to this process of investigation of the one bird into the
misfortune of the other. I came in just as these exhibitions had
occurred, and taking up the bird with its twisted wing, I was obliged
after setting the limb, to restrain him from any further gratification of
his mate’s curiosity by tying the wing into place, and keeping it so
tied, till the bone united. The one now attended the other, and
carefully examined, day after day, the broken limb. Calling on him to
make an occasional effort to raise the disabled and immovable
member, she used her ineffectual endeavours to persuade him to lift
it, though tied, by lifting her own from time to time.
“Though this fellow-feeling was so strongly and so remarkably
manifested with regard to the broken wing,—when feeding together,
the abler female did not hesitate to take advantage of her greater
agility, by snatching away from her mate his share of victuals, and
grappling with him for one and the same piece of meat. Instinct
seems to exhibit simple, not complex emotions. If the male bird had
been utterly unable to feed himself, the female would, possibly,
herself have supplied him with food:—but, able to eat, the undivided
passion was the feeding appetite; and the instinctive habit of striking
at the prey, and grabbing it, was not capable of restraint, or of any
modification whatever.
“The Booby has an uncontrollable predilection for elevated spots
as perching places. If a single stone be higher than others in the
yard, the Booby’s eye perceives it, and there he takes up his station,
and stands, when he has fed, and is satisfied. If a log or a bundle of
wood lie about, he mounts it, and perches upon it to sun himself,
extending his wings over his tail, and erecting his dorsal feathers for
the admission of the genial beams of morning. He roosts upon
similar vantage spots, generally on the tops of the triangular coops in
which are kept our fattening poultry. He has great prehensile power
with his foot; and his serrated middle-toe is frequently applied to
scratch the naked skin about his eyes and face. Our birds are fonder
of flesh meats, such as beef and pork, than of fish. They dislike fat,
and generally reject it, if it be given separately from the lean. They
never drink, and are just as regardless of the water about the yard,
as if they had been as unadapted for it, as hens and turkeys.”[131]
[131] The following note I received from my friend, since the above was
prepared for the press. “My male Booby died the other day. I found
animalcules in the liver. Its anatomy exhibited, in a remarkably interesting
manner, the fine adaptation for the purposes of buoyancy, detailed by
Professor Owen in the dissection of the kindred Gannet. The muscles
showed the air-vessels interspersed among them, in a manner altogether
surprising. They had the appearance, as he expresses it, of being
dissected. The bird, in the act of expiring, had almost entirely discharged
the air from about the chest; but very considerable inflation still subsisted
in the thighs. The large femoral muscle might be said to be almost
entirely detached from the enveloping integument. The septa of the cells
seemed alone to attach it to the adjacent flesh. There was no adhesion,
but along one of its edges.” The cells were strongly united to the skin;
and the roots of the feathers protruded into the internal cavities, as if they
grew out of nothing. The cells must have performed their office with
marvellous readiness, for the nerves were easily traceable among them.
The air-vessels were like so many colourless bubbles.
“The bird had died during the night by the side of the coop on which
they both usually roosted, but without attempting to perch. As I removed
the dead bird before the other Booby had quitted its morning roost, it was
interesting to see it, under a sense of loneliness, running its head into
every opened door, to seek its lost companion.”

FRIGATE-BIRD.[132]

Man-of-war bird.

Fregata aquilus.
Pelecanus aquilus, Linn.—Aud. pl. 271.
Pelecanus leucocephalus, (young), Gmel.
Fregata aquilus, Cuv.
Tachypetes aquilus, Vieill.

[132] Length 38 inches, expanse 85, flexure 26, tail 17¾, rictus 5¾,
tarsus 1, middle toe 3. Male. Irides black; feet black; beak bluish-grey,
blackish at tip: throat-pouch colour of red-lead, slightly pendent at bottom
like a dewlap. Whole plumage black, sometimes brilliantly glossed, the
head and wings with green, the neck and fore-back with purple.
Female. Feet delicate pink (perhaps not constant); orbits and pouch
pale blue; plumage unglossed, back and wing-coverts smoke-brown;
 breast pure white, which forms a narrow collar. Under parts smoke-
brown.
Young. Feet bluish-white. Head, upper-neck, throat, breast and belly
pure white. The rest of the plumage black, with some iridescence.

But that the history of the Pelican and the Booby made allusion to
the roosting place near Bluefields necessary, I should have preferred
to describe it under the present article; for though the trees are
common to the three species, the former two frequent the place less
numerously, and less constantly than the Frigates. At most hours of
the day, one either sees a large number of these birds resting on the
lofty trees, or else soaring and circling round and round over the
place. Occasionally, in the middle of the day we see half a dozen
sailing at an immense height in the air; where their size and colour,
the graceful freedom of their motions, and the sublimity of their
elevation, might cause them to be confounded with the John Crow
Vulture, were it not for the curvature of their wings, the long-pointed
tail, often opened and closed, and a superior elegance in their
general form.
Being desirous of knowing at what hour the Frigates came home
to the roosting place, I visited it on several evenings. On the first
occasion, arriving there just as the sun was setting, I found I was not
sufficiently early to witness the congregating of the birds, for my ears
were saluted, even when in the high-road, by the loud and
unpleasant croaking of the Boobies. On my getting to the foot of the
first Birch-tree, I could discern many of these sitting on the branches;
but as the view was much intercepted by the bushes and trees
around, I scrambled down the shingly precipice, to the sea-side.
Then on looking up I saw the boughs of the birch immediately over
my head, studded with these noisy birds, preening their plumage, or
scolding and fighting harshly with one another, as they sat side by
side. While thus gazing upward, I narrowly escaped the misfortune of
Tobit. There may have been thirty Boobies in sight, and about eight
or ten Frigates, but no Pelicans except three on a tree at a little
distance. All on a sudden, however, the Frigates flew off as by
common impulse, accompanied by at least fifty more, which I had
not seen, they having been concealed by the foliage, or having been
sitting on the neighbouring trees,—and by as many Boobies, leaving
a good number of the latter, however, still remaining.
Though they all flew about in various directions over the sea, they
did not retire from the vicinity; but the Frigates presently separated
from the Boobies, taking a loftier elevation, where they sailed and
circled in silent dignity, while the Boobies were clamorous in their
evolutions.
The latter soon sought their perches again; and this gave rise to
incessant squabbles, for if a flyer attempted to alight beside a sitter,
the latter, as if affronted at the intrusion, began, with elevated wings
and opened beak, to resist, croaking vociferously. The Frigates were
long before they returned; some sailed out half a mile, and there
performed their elegant manœuvrings, while others still hovered
above the roosting trees. Among these some were wholly black,
some had the white breast of the female sex, and others the white
head of youth, and one was conspicuous by his blood-red pouch,
inflated into a tense bladder beneath his chin. From the fact that very
few, indeed, possess this red pouch, I incline to think it a peculiarity
of mature age; for many had the livery of the adult male, whose
pouch was inconspicuous, and of a pale buff hue. At length, as the
increased darkness gathered in, they also began one by one to
settle, very charily, often making a feint to alight, and again sailing
off. Some slowly wended their way farther down the bay, and some I
left still in the air.
A few days after, I again went between three and four o’clock, but
even then the Frigates were reposing in great numbers, but few
Boobies, and no Pelicans. I shot a Frigate, which of course aroused
the whole flock: and I then had an opportunity of ascertaining their
numbers. As they sailed gracefully round, I counted them twice, and
both times made them about fifty, but of course I could not be quite
exact: from other observations, I should estimate the number of
those which habitually repose there to be about sixty, more or less.
During an hour and a half that I remained, they did not again alight,
and when the sun was close to the horizon they were still soaring in
their sublime evolutions. About one sixth of the number were white-
headed, their snowy heads and breasts gleaming now and then, as
the slanting rays were reflected from them to the observer; and
several displayed the inflated scarlet pouch, a little constricted in the
middle. As the Frigate flies, the form of its wings reminds one of
enormous bats, but for the lengthened tail. When about to alight,
they sometimes cackle a little, but are generally silent. As they sit on
the branches they are incessantly employed in picking the vermin
from their bodies, with which they are much infested. This is done
partly with the beak, but partly with the foot; and I have seen them,
after scratching themselves, put up the foot to the beak, apparently
delivering something into the mouth. Occasionally they throw the
head back, and make a loud clattering with the beak. Passing along
the road one forenoon in May, a large number were wheeling round
the roosting place, some alighting, and others rising. Those which
were on the wing uttered, particularly as they swooped near the tree,
on which they made as if they would alight, a repeated chuck, not
loud, with a rather rapid iteration.
It would appear that this place has been frequented by the
Frigates, for at least a hundred years. Robinson has this note: “On a
large cotton-tree, between Mr. Wallo’s and the Cave, by the sea-
side, come to roost many Man-of-war birds, about four o’clock in the
evenings, which tree may be easily approached by a canoe, whence
the Men-of-war and other sea-fowl may be shot, either in the
evening, or before sunrise; for the Man-of-war birds will not leave
their roosting-places before sunrise, in this resembling the Noddy.
Dr. Gorse of Savanna le Mar, from whom I had this account,
observed that the cotton-tree was blanched or whitened by their
dung.” (MSS. ii. 83.)
I have never seen the Frigate fishing; but have frequently found
flying-fish in its stomach half digested.[133] Nor have I ever seen it
attack the Booby, to make it disgorge, though the fishermen of
Jamaica are familiar with this habit. Dr. Chamberlaine, who
apparently describes from observation, says of the Frigate, “He is
almost always a constant attendant upon our fishermen, when
pursuing their vocation on the sand-banks in Kingston Harbour, or
near the Palisados. Over their heads it takes its aerial stand, and
watches their motions with a patience and perseverance the most
exemplary. It is upon these occasions that the Pelicans, the Gulls,
and other sea-birds become its associates and companions. These
are also found watching with equal eagerness and anxiety the issue
of the fishermen’s progress, attracted to the spot by the sea of living
objects immediately beneath them.
[133] An intelligent fisherman, who is in the habit of trading about the
coast, and to Cuba, asserts that he has often seen the Frigates fishing far
out at sea; such large fishes as Bonito, that leap out of water, being their
prey; which they catch with the foot, plunging down on them, and then
mounting, deliver the booty to the mouth like a Parrot. I feel it right to
repeat this statement, though I think it improbable, from the weakness of
the foot. He adds that they breed in great numbers on the Pedro Kays,
laying on the bare rocks.

“And then it is, when these men are making their last haul, and the
finny tribe are fluttering and panting for life, that this voracious bird
exhibits his fierce and pugnacious propensities. His hungry
companions have scarcely secured their prey by the side of the
fishermen’s canoes, when with the lightning’s dart, they are pounced
upon with such violence, that, to escape its rapacious assaults, they
readily in turn yield their hard-earned booty to this formidable
opponent. The lightness of its trunk, the short tarsi, and vast spread
of wing, together with its long, slender, and forked tail, all conspire to
give him a superiority over his tribe, not only in length and rapidity of
flight, but also in the power of maintaining itself on outspread pinions
in the regions of his aerial habitation amidst the clouds; where, at
times, so lofty are its soarings, its figure becomes almost invisible to
the spectator in this nether world.” (Jamaica Alm. 1843, p. 87.)
I know nothing positive of the nidification of the Frigate. On the
face of Pedro Bluff, about four feet from the surface of the sea,
which, however, in stormy weather dashes furiously into it, there is a
hole into which a man may crawl, but which, within, widens into a
spacious cavern. A person who had visited this place, told me that
on its floor lie the skulls and bones of men, mouldering in damp and
decay; the relics, probably of some of the unfortunate Indians, who
preferred death by famine to the tortures and cruelties of the
Spaniards. To this cave, he affirmed, the Frigates and Pelicans
resort to lay their eggs; depositing them on the projecting ledges and
shelves of the soft and marly rock. On my way up to Kingston from
Bluefields in June, lying windbound under the Pedro, I induced a
white man residing there to accompany me to the face of the Bluff,
where he said the Pelicans and Frigates roosted, and where the
former built and laid. After walking about a mile in the most burning
heat, through cacti, aloes, and spinous bushes, a most peculiar
vegetation, and over the sharp needle-like points of honey-comb
limestone, occasionally leaping deep clefts, we came to the spot.
Many birds of both kinds were sitting on the low stunted trees, but
we could not find a single nest nor eggs; though, as my guide said,
at some times they were numerous, but only of the Pelican; of the
Frigate’s nidification he knew nothing.
The gular pouch of the old male, is not connected with the mouth,
like that of the Pelican, but appears to be an air-cell; perhaps having
some analogy to the erectile caruncles of the male Turkey. If we take
the skeleton of the Pelican as a standard, the sternum of the Frigate
is greatly developed laterally, as that of the Booby is, longitudinally.
The middle claw is pectinated. I think I know of no bird so infested
with entozoic worms as the Frigate. Immense bunches both of
tænoid and cylindrical worms are found in almost every specimen,
besides some curious kinds apparently of a higher organization.
Bird-lice and bird-flies also infest it.
One which was wounded, on being taken up, was fierce,
endeavouring to seize with his beak. And a specimen kept alive by
Dr. Chamberlaine, became animated and pugnacious when the
children or servants approached it, and struck at them with its
formidable bill.

TROPIC BIRD.[134]

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.)

CRESTED TERN.[135]

White Egg-Bird.

Thalasseus Cayanus.
Sterna Cayana, Gmel.—Aud. pl. 273.
Thalasseus Cayanus, Boie.
 [135] Length 21 inches, expanse 45, flexure 14½, tail 7¼, rictus 3⁴⁄₁₀,
tarsus 1⁴⁄₁₀, middle toe 1³⁄₁₀. Two cæca ¹⁄₃ inch long.

This large and beautiful Tern is the most common species we have
in the vicinity of Bluefields. Its powerful beak of a bright orange hue,
its pointed occipital crests of black, the pearly tint of its upper, and
the satiny lustre of its under parts, constitute it a species of much
beauty. In the autumn months we may frequently see this bird
fishing. A quarter of a mile from the shore, off Crabpond Point, there
is a reef, above which it may be seen almost every day. Quite
solitary in his habits, the Crested Tern prefers to fish alone; and
though sometimes two or three may be in view at once, there is no
association, no accordance of movement, as in the Pelicans. High
above the water, we discern a bird, the snowy whiteness of whose
plumage contrasts with the blue sky; he flies rapidly round and round
in a large circle, quickly flapping his wings without intermission.
Suddenly, he arrests his flight, flutters his wings in rapid vibration, as
he looks downwards, but in a moment proceeds as before: it was
doubtless a fish near the surface, but which disappeared before he
could descend. Presently he again stops short, flutters,—then
bringing the elbow of the wings to a right angle, descends
perpendicularly, but with a singular turning of the body, so as to
present now the back, now the belly, alternately, to the observer; not,
however, by a rotation, but irregularly, and as if by jerks. But his
purpose is again frustrated; for on nearly reaching the surface, he
recovers himself with a graceful sweep, and remounts on flagging
wing. Again he circles; and again, and again stops: at length, down
he swoops, disappears with a plash, and in a moment breaks,
struggling, from the wave, and, as if to rise burdened with prey were
difficult, flags heavily near the surface, and circling slowly round,
gradually regains his former altitude. Suddenly,—as if alarmed,
though nothing appears to cause it,—he utters two or three loud
cries in a plaintive tone, and flies off, along the coast, until he is
concealed from view by the projecting mangroves. Yet, strange to
say, in a few seconds he returns, and calmly pursues his wonted
occupation. When satiated, he betakes himself to some one of the
logs of wood which are placed as buoys by the fishermen to mark
the position of their sunken fish-pots; and on this he reposes all
night, rocked to sleep by the roll of the surf. The fishermen, on
visiting their pots at early day, find the Terns, exceedingly often,
sitting on the buoys; and so fearless are they, that not seldom a
canoe may be paddled nearly within touch of one before he will fly.
Though web-footed, I believe none of the Terns are ever seen to
swim. One shot and wounded in the wing made no effort to strike
out, but merely struggled in the water as a land-bird would do. This
specimen was brought home alive; it attempted to bite, striking with
the beak. The flesh was dark, and resembled that of a Duck.

EGG-BIRD.[136]

Hydrochelidon fuliginosa.
Sterna fuliginosa, Gmel.—Aud. pl. 235.
Hydrochelidon fuliginosum, Boie.

[136] Length 17 inches, expanse [40, computed,] flexure 11⁶⁄₁₀, tail 7⁵⁄₁₀,
uropygials 4, rictus 2³⁄₁₀, tarsus 1, middle toe 1²⁄₁₀.

For my information concerning this species, I am principally

indebted to Mr. Hill; a single specimen only having fallen into my
possession, which was shot by Sam, sitting on a fish-pot buoy near
Bluefields, in the manner of the former species.
It is, however, a bird of considerable commercial importance; for
its eggs, in common with those of the Noddy (Megalopterus stolidus)
and the Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus Cantiacus) form an object of
profitable adventure to the crews of numerous small vessels, fitted
out in the spring from Kingston and other ports. The Pedro Kays are
the grand field whence this harvest is reaped. “These lonely islets,”
observes Mr. Hill, “are the resort of thousands and tens of thousands
of sea-fowl. As soon as visitors land, myriads of birds are upon the
wing in all directions. Some flocks rise, in circling flight, high up into
the air; and descending again in the same dense numbers as they
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