PELICANS AND ALLIED SPECIES. 375 



rally discontinuous ; the stomach very small, and but slightly 

 muscular, with the epithelium smooth ; there is ahvays a 

 round hollow appendage at the pylorus ; the intestine is very 

 long and slender, with small cylindrical coeca, and a large 

 globose cloaca. 



The nostrils are basal, lateral, linear, small, or altogether 

 obliterated. The eyes of moderate size. The apertures of 

 the ears small. The feet short and stout ; the tarsus com- 

 pressed ; the toes four, all connected by membranes, the 

 fourth toe longest ; the claM^s short, strong, curved, that of 

 the third toe generally pectinate on the expanded inner edge. 



The plumage is soft, blended, on the back and wings 

 compact and imbricated. The wings are long ; the tail of 

 moderate length, and narrow. 



The habits of these birds are very different ; for, while the 

 Cormorants pursue their prey much in the same manner as 

 the Mergansers and Loons, and the Anhingas are still more 

 strictly lU'inatorial, the Pelicans combine the characters of 

 urinatorial and mersatorial birds ; the Gannets fly about in 

 quest of food, plunging upon it from on high ; the Frigate- 

 Birds range over the seas with scarcely-rivalled speed of wing, 

 and the Tropic-birds resemble Terns in their mode of flight. 

 They all feed on fish, however, and all are very voracious. 

 They nestle on rocks, bushes, or trees, forming a clumsy and 

 ill-constructed nest, and lay a small number of bluish-white 

 eggs, crusted over with an irregular layer of calcareous 

 gi-anules. The young, at first almost naked, and generally 

 black, continue in the nest until able to fly. Only two 

 genera have representatives in Britain. 



SYNOPSIS OF TSE BRITISH GENERA AND SPECIES. 



GENUS I. PHALACROCORAX. CORMOEANT. 



Bill about the length of the head, rather slender, nearly 

 straight, compressed toward the end ; upper mandible with 

 the dorsal line concave, the ridge convex, with a narrow 



