PELICAX. — /VZcc«;i((ii onocrotalm. 



reacli with the bill. "Wlien it is annoyed, it has a habit of slapping the mandibles 

 together with a sound that can best be described by the word " walloping," caused by the 

 flapping of the loose pouch. It assumes a great variety of positions ; and when two 

 individuals quarrel, the grotesque attitudes with which they denote their anger are 

 irresistibly ludicrous. When playful it tumbles about in the water, dabbles with the bill 

 as if it were catching fish, dashes the water on every side with its huge wings, and then 

 walking on shore stands still and flaps its pinions with a force and decision that strongly 

 remind the observer of a cabman on a very cold day. 



The colour of the Pelican is white with a delicate roseate tinge like that of a blush 

 rose. On the breast the feathers are elongated and of a golden yellow. The quill-feathers 

 are black, but hardly seen until the bird expands its wings ; the bill is yellow, ti])pcd 

 with red. The length of the bird is almost six feet, and tlie expanse of wing about 

 twelve feet. 



There are several other species of Pelican, but the habits of all are very similar. 



The hist l)ird on our list is the well-known FiUGATE BiKD, Sea Hawk, or IMan-of- 

 War Bikd, an inhabitant of the tropical seas. So admirable and comprehensive a 

 biography of this bird has been given by Dr. Bennett in his "Wanderings of a Naturalist," 

 that I cannot do better than transfer his account to these pages. 



" The Frigate Bird is often seen frequenting the Austral and other tropical islands. 

 It somewhat resembles the cormorant in its general a]ipearanc('. ... It is interesting to 

 observe these birds soaring in the air with a flight widely different from that of the birds 

 around them, and conspicuous from the symmetry of their form and the power and extent 



