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Updated: May 2, 2025
At the termination of that time, an exclamatory phrase, escaping from his lips, proclaimed the discovery of some object that, to his mind, accounted for the odd behaviour of the albacores. "De frigate-bird!" was the phrase that came mutteringly from between Snowball's teeth. "Ya, ya, dar am two ob dem, de cock an' hen, I s'pose. Dat 'counts for de scariness of dese hya fish.
Plash into the water went the two baited hooks, both at once; and, almost before the ripples caused by the plunge had ceased to circle upon the surface, a still louder plashing could be heard, and a much rougher ripple seen, in short, a large space of the surface agitated into foam, where a brace of albacores were fluking and struggling on the respective hooks of Snowball and the sailor.
Shoals of porpoises, albacores, bonitos, and other gregarious fishes will appear in the same place, each kind in pursuit of its favourite prey, while sharks, threshers, and sword-fish, accompanied by their "pilots" and "suckers," though in lesser numbers, here also abound, from the very abundance of the species on which these sea-monsters subsist "Flocks" of flying-fish sparkle in the sun with troops of bonitos gliding watchful below, while above them the sky will sometimes be literally clouded with predatory birds, gulls, boobies, gannets, tropic and frigate-birds, albatrosses, and a score of other kinds but little known, and as yet undescribed by the naturalist.
The albacores no longer took any notice of the baited hooks; but, instead, commenced darting through the water in various directions, until they had got scattered about over the sea. Was it fear of the predatory birds hovering above that was producing this change in their tactics? It could not be that.
The last interrogatory was mechanical, and put merely to fill up the time; for as he gave utterance to it he reached towards the implement that lay within reach of his hands, and eagerly grasping raised it aloft. With such a weapon it was probable that he might have succeeded in striking down one of the winged swimmers that, pursued by the bonitos and albacores, were still leaping over the raft.
The reappearance of the sword-fish, if it was the same that had already paid them a visit, or more likely the discovery and pursuit of the "school" of flying-fish, had caused the albacores to decamp from the neighbourhood of the Catamaran; so that with the exception of that taken from the talons of the frigate-bird, not one was any longer to be seen.
The frigates has spied 'em from aloft, an' that's what's brought them hoverin' over. They've seed the albacores too; and as they know that these preys on the flyin'-fish, they've come down to be nearer thar game. Unless the albacores get thar eyes on the winged fish, and run down among 'em, there'll be no chance for the frigates. They can do nothin' till t' other jumps 'em out o' the water.
They were pursued by a couple of albacores; one of these would have supplied us with ample food for several days, but so rapid were their movements that we got but a single blow at one of them. It dashed by the boat, and was in an instant lost to sight.
While swimming it propels itself by rapid lateral movements of the tail, executed awkwardly and with a tortuous motion. It is itself preyed upon by other fish, diodons and albacores; but the shark is merciful to it, as to the pilot-fish, and never interferes with it. Sucking-fish are occasionally seen of a pure white colour associating with the black ones, and also attending upon the shark.
The silvery sheen of translucent wings, as they glittered under the bright sunbeams, proclaimed the creatures to be a "flock" of flying-fish, of which the albacores of all their many enemies the most dangerous were now in pursuit.
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