Tropic Bird
a popular name for any species of the genus Phaëthon. They are tropical sea birds, in habits and general appearance approaching gulls and terns, and resembling the latter in their mode of flight. Their powers of flight are great, and they are usually seen at considerable distances from the land, as they live almost entirely on the wing, and when they do not return to the distant shore to roost, rest on the surface of the water. They are about 30 inches long, of which the long tail feathers occupy about one-half. The general hue of the plumage is white; in two species, Cyc TROSSACHS from the Atlantic Ocean, P. ætherius (or candidus) and P. flavirostris, the tail feathers are white; in the third species, P. phœnicurus, from the Pacific Ocean, they are red, and are highly valued by the natives of the South Seas as ornaments. Tropic birds nest in holes かっ TROPIC BIRD in cliffs and on rocky islands, the female laying only one egg, and the male sitting in a hole by her side, both with heads inward.