FRIGATE PELICANS. 489 



FRIGATE PELICANS. (Trachypetes, Vieill) 



In these birds the bill is longer than the head, dilated and entire 

 on the margins ; with both mandibles strongly hooked and acurain-* 

 ate at the points ; the upper very acute, furnished with a nail, depress- 

 ed at the base, the ridge grooved deeply on each side. Nostrils in 

 the furrows of the bill, basal, linear, and but little apparent. Tongue 

 very short and lanceolate ; the gape very wide. Orbits and lores 

 naked, the throat dilatable . and furnished with a pouch. Feet very 

 short, the thighs drawn up into the belly ; tibia wholly feathered ; 

 tarsus compressed and carinated on both sides, half feathered. Toes 

 4, all connected together by membranes, the w^ebs deeply indented ; 

 hind toe half as long as the middle one ; the nails large, curved, and 

 acute ; the middle one serrated on its inner edge, and twice as long 

 as the rest. Wings extremely long and narrow ; the 1st primary 

 longest. Tail deeply forked, of 12 flaccid feathers, 



^..^ ^^..^^ oxxxxxx^i x^x uiiejr plumage. The young diitermg from tnft 

 adult, and changing repeatedly. The moult occurs twice in the 

 year, producing but slight change in the colors. The plumage not 

 impermeable to water. The general colors approaching to black. 



The Frigate Pelicans associate in small or large flocks ; keep much 

 on the wing, encountering storms with impunity, and soaring at 

 times above the clouds. They fly with great rapidity, and are seen 

 far out at sea, though never resting on the surface, as they appear 

 unable either to dive or swim. On land they are seen perched on 

 trees, or on high rocks ; and when on the ground appear unable to 

 rise and are easily caught. They pursue the flying fish, and seize it 

 as it rises from the waves to escape from its pursuers in the deep. 

 Tyrants of the ocean, they even seize upon the Pelican, and habitu- 

 ally harass the Gulls and Boobies, compelling them often to drop 

 their finny prey, or even to disgorge that which they have swallow- 

 ed, and are so eager and alert in the pursuit, as to seize the fish before 

 it arrives at the waves. Their sight, like that of the Eagle, is keen 

 and accurate, and they are often seen to pounce upon their quarry 

 from the sky with an unerring aim. They sometimes skim the sur- 

 face of the waves or lie suspended with their wings still elevated 



