424 ANSERES. — PELECANID^. 



with one another, as they sat side by side. While 

 thus gazing upward, I narrowly escaped the mis- 

 fortune of Tobit. There may have been thirty 

 Boobies in sight, and about eight or ten Frigates, 

 but no Pelicans except three on a tree at a little 

 distance. All on a sudden, however, the Fri- 

 gates flew off as by common impulse, accompa- 

 nied by at least fifty more, which I had not seen, 

 they having been concealed by the foliage, or 

 having been sitting on the neighbouring trees, — 

 and by as many Boobies, leaving a good number 

 of the latter, however, still remaining. 



Though they all flew about in various direc- 

 tions over the sea, they did not retire from the 

 vicinity ; but the Frigates presently separated from 

 the Boobies, taking a loftier elevation, where they 

 sailed and circled in silent dignity, while the Boobies 

 were clamorous in their evolutions. 



The latter soon sought their perches again ; and 

 this gave rise to incessant squabbles, for if a flyer 

 attempted to alight beside a sitter, the latter, as 

 if affronted at the intrusion, began, with elevated 

 wings and opened beak, to resist, croaking voci- 

 ferously. The Frigates were long before they re- 

 turned ; some sailed out half a mile, and there per- 

 formed their elegant manoeuvrings, while others 

 still hovered above the roosting trees. Among 

 these some were wholly black, some had the white 

 breast of the female sex, and others the white 

 head of youth, and one was conspicuous by his 

 blood-red pouch, inflated into a tense bladder be- 

 neath his chin. From the fact that very few, in- 



