“ All are either powerful swimmers and divers, or else are skillful in lying in wait and snatching or piercing any fish that comes sufficiently close to their motionless forms. The instrument (except in the Raptores, which use their talons) is the beak, which is long, straight, sharply pointed, and sharp-edged, so that a firm grip may be had of the slippery bodies of their prey. ”

“ Certain more powerful birds (as the jäger gulls) profit by the labors of the fishing birds, compelling them to give up their prey; and men have trained the cormorant to exercise its skill for their benefit. ”

“ They do not constitute a scientific group, many widely dissimilar forms having taken up and become adapted to this mode of life, not to include such out-of-the-way species as the kingfishers, and certain fish-eating birds of prey. ”