434 PELICANS. 



collapses as before, and heavily the bird rises to wing, and again 

 beats over the surf with his fellows. It is worthy of observation 

 that the pelican invariably performs a summersault under the 

 water ; for, descending as he does diagonally, not perpendicularly, 

 the head emerges looking in the opposite direction to that in 

 which it was looking before. When the morning appetite is sated, 

 they sit calmly upon the heaving surface, looking much like a 

 miniature fleet. Towards evening they fly in long ranks to the 

 trees near the shore." 



Often the pelicans skim over the surface of the sea or balance 

 themselves in the air at a moderate elevation, and then pounce 

 headlong on their prey. It has been remarked that they occa- 

 sionally congregate in large flocks, and encircling a piece of water, 

 beat the surface with their wings, until the affrighted fish are 

 driven into a small space and deprived of all means of escape. 

 Their flight is generally low and heavy, but they are capable of 

 rising to a considerable height. They deposit their eggs on rocks, 

 sometimes in an excavation near the water, or on the banks of a 

 cascade, generally choosing places which are difficult of access. 



The typical species — 



The White Pelican {Pchcamis Onocrotalns\ is about the size of a swan , 

 its pkimage is white or slightly flesh-coloured, with the hook at the end of its 

 beak a cherry red. These birds are common throughout the warmer regions 

 of the Old World, and equally or perhaps more numerous on the American 

 continent. They inhabit marshy places and live upon fish. Their habits are 

 graphically described in the following sketch : 



" Ranged along the margins of the sand-bar," says Audubon, " in broken 

 array, stand a hundred heavy-bodied pelicans pluming themselves and await- 

 ing the return of hunger. Should one chance to gape, all, as if by sympathy, 

 in succession open their long and broad mandibles, yawning lazily and ludi- 

 crously, ]5ut when the red beams of the setting sun tinge the tall tops of the 

 forest trees, the birds rise clumsily on their short legs, and heavily waddle to 

 the water, and plunge into the stream. Lightly they float as they marshal 

 themselves and extend their line ; and now their broad paddle-like feet propel 

 them onwards. In yonder nook the small fry are dancing on the quiet water. 

 Thousands are there, and the very manner of their mirth, causing the waters 

 to sparkle, invites their foes to advance. And now the pelicans at once spread 

 out their broad wings, press closely forward with powerful strokes of their 

 feet, drive the little fishes towards the shallow shore, and then, with their 

 enormous pouches spread like so many bag-nets, scoop them out and devour 

 them. These birds arc altogether diurnal. When gorged, they retire to the 

 shores of small islands in bays and rivers, or sit on logs floatmg in shallow 

 water at a good distance from the beach, — in all which situations they lie or 

 stand closely together. The white pelicans appear almost inactive during the 

 greater part of the day, fishing only after sunrise, and again an hour before 

 sunset, though at times the whole flock will mount high in the air, and perform 

 extended <?vrations." 



