“Once it made its escape, and flew off about a quarter of a mile into the pond. Some boys happening to be there in a canoe, the bird approached them with open mouth, for it was hungry and wanted food. They seeing such a strange creature pursuing them with a head somewhat like that of a snake, took alarm and paddled for the shore; but my bird followed in their wake, and landed as soon as they did. They now fled to the house, where the Anhinga also arrived, and was recognised by some members of the family, who sent it back to me; and I, to prevent its farther escape or loss, clipped one of its wings.” I saw the bird above mentioned at my friend’s house at Charleston in the winter of 1836, when on my way to the Gulf of Mexico, and had many opportunities of watching its habits. It was killed by a beautiful retriever presented to me by the EARL OF DERBY, and its death occasioned sorrow both to my friend and myself, as he had given it to me for the purpose of being sent to that nobleman. Ever since I have been acquainted with the Anhinga, I have thought that in form and habits it is intimately connected with the Cormorants, and was induced to compare their manners. In some respects I found them similar, in others different; but when I discovered that all these birds possess a remarkable peculiarity in the structure of their feathers, I thought that their generic affinity could not be denied. The Anhinga has its body and neck covered with what I would call _fibrous_ feathers, having a very slender shaft; while its quills and tail-feathers are _compact_, that is, perfect in structure, strong, and elastic. Now the shafts of all these latter feathers are _tubular from their bases to their very extremities_, which, in so far as I know, is not the case in any other bird, excepting the Cormorants. They are all very elastic, like those in the tails of our largest Woodpeckers, the shafts of which, however, are filled with a spongy pith, as in all other land-birds, and in all the aquatic species which I have examined, including Divers and Grebes, as well as _Plungers_, such as Gannets, Kings-fishers, and Fishing Hawks. The quills and tail-feathers of the Cormorants and Anhinga, in short, have the barrel as in other birds, but the shaft _hollow, even to the tip, its walls being transparent, and of the same nature as the barrel_. WILSON, who, it is acknowledged, made his figures from stuffed specimens in the Philadelphia Museum, had no positive proof that the bird which he took for a female was one, for he had not seen the Anhinga alive or recently killed. Even his continuator, Mr ORD, procured only males during his visit to the Floridas. But the female which I have represented was proved to be of that sex by dissection, and was examined by myself nineteen years ago near Bayou Sara. Since that time I have had numerous opportunities of satisfying myself as to this point, by examining birds in various stages.