TOTIPALMATE SWIMMERS. 



The name Snakebird is derived from the bird's habit of swimming with 

 the body submerged, when the long, sinuous neck, appearing above the 

 water, readily suggests a snake. At other times Snakebirds mount high 

 in the air and sail about, like Hawks, in wide circles. They build a 

 large, well-made nest in a bush or tree, generally over the water, and 

 lay four bluish white, chalky eggs. 



Cormorants nest in large colonies, generally on isolated islets, but 

 sometimes in remote swamps. The nests are placed closely together 

 on the ground, in bushes, and less frequently in trees, according to 

 the nature of the bird's haunts. 



Cormorants feed on fish which they catch by pursuing them under 

 the water. They dive from the surface of the water like Ducks, or 

 from a low perch, but not from the air, as do the Gannets. 



Pelicans nest in colonies, generally on some small island, building 

 their nests on the ground or in bushes, and laying two or three large, 

 white, chalky eggs. 



Brown Pelicans secure their food by plunging on it from the air, gen- 

 erally from about twenty feet above the water. The sides of the bill 

 are then bowed outward, the opening-widened, forming, with the pouch, 

 an effective net in which fish, twelve and fourteen inches long, are cap- 

 tured. 



White Pelicans, on the contrary, feed from the water, scooping up 

 fishes as they swim. At times a flock of these birds may surround a 

 school of small fish in shallow water and drive them shoreward, at the 

 same time actively filling their pouches. 



Young Pelicans are fed on fish which they take from the pouch of 

 the parent bird by thrusting their bills and heads well into it and prod- 

 ding actively about for the food to be found there. Young Cormorants 

 secure their food in a similar manner. 



Frigate Birds, of which only two species are known, have a greater 

 expanse of wing in proportion to the weight of their body than any 

 other bird. Their power of flight is consequently unexcelled and they 

 may spend days in the air without tiring. Their feet are as weak as 

 their wings are strong, and are of use only in perching. 



The food of Frigate Birds consists chiefly of fish, which they catch 

 from near the surface of the water, or rob from Gulls and Terns by - 

 pursuing them, forcing them to disgorge their prey, and catching it ere 

 -t reaches the water. 



68 



