NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS EGGS. 67 



127. California Brown Pelican. Pelecanus californicus. 



Range. -Pacific coast from British Columbia south to the Galapagos Islands 



This bird is similar to the preceding, but larger and the pouch is reddish 



They breed abundantly on the Coronado Islands and southward. Their h', I 'it J ' 



nesting habits and eggs are the same as those of the Brown Pelican Size of tlip 



S? ree S? f i* U a r - Ch y WhHe 6g l? iS 3<1 X 1>95 - Data.-Coronado Islands Calif 

 Mar. 23, 1897. Three eggs. Nest of sticks, lined with green leaves, located on 

 the ground. Collector, H. McConville. 



MAN-O'-WAR BIRDS. Family FREGATIDAE. 



128. Man-o'-War Bird. Fregata aquila. 



Range. -Tropical seas, north regularly in America to the South Atlantic and 

 Gulf coasts, casually farther. 



Man-o'-War Birds or "Fri- 

 gates," as they are often called, 

 are remarkable birds in many re- 

 spects. In comparison with 

 their weight they have the larg- 

 est expanse of wing of any known 

 \ bird. Weighing only about four 

 pounds they have an extent of 

 from seven to eight feet, their 

 wings being extremely long and 

 pointed. The length of the bird 

 is about 40 inches, of which the 

 tail comprises about 18 in., 10 

 inches of this being forked. They 

 have a large bright orange gular 

 sac, a long, hooked bill, and 

 small slightly webbed feet. 

 Their powers of flight combine 

 the strength of the Albatrosses 

 and the grace of the Terns. They are very poor swimmers and do not dive, so 

 are forced to procure their food by preying upon the Gulls and Cormorants, 

 forcing them to drop their fish, which the pirates catch before it reaches the 

 water. They also feed upon flying fish, catching them in the air, whither they 

 have been driven by their enemies in their natural element. They nest in large 

 colonies on some of the Bahama Islands and on some of the small Florida Keys. 

 Their nests are small frail platforms of sticks and twigs and the single egg is 

 laid in March and April. It is white and has a smooth surface. Size 2. 80 x 1.90. 

 Data. Key Verde, Bahamas, Mar. 6, 1889. Single egg. Nest a frail affair of 

 sticks on a cactus. Collector, D. P. Ingraham. 



Order V. ANSERES. 

 DUCKS, GEESE AND SWANS. Family ANATIDAE. 



The birds comprising this family are of greatly varying sizes, but all have 

 webbed feet, and generally the bill is broader than high, and is serrated on the 

 edges or provided with gutters to act as a strainer in assisting the birds to gather 

 their food. 



129. American Merganser. Merganser americanus. 



Range. North America, breeding from the northern border of the United 

 States northward. 



The three species of Mergansers are almost exclusively fish eating birds. 

 Therefore their flesh is unpalatable and they are known as "Fish Ducks." 

 are also sometimes called "Saw-bills" because of the teeth-like serration on both 

 the upper and the under mandibles. Unlike the other species of ducks, their 

 bills are long, slender and rounded instead of being broad and flat; it is also 

 hooked at the tip. Like the Cormorants, they often pursue and catch fish under 

 the water, their teeth-like bills enabling them to firmly hold their prey. 



[White.] 



