504 



Creagury rif Datura! 



posed to enable it, like the Exoceti and some 

 other fishes, to support itself for a few mo- 

 ments in air, while it springs occasionally 

 over the surface of the water. The thorax 

 or superior part of the body is of a broad, 

 slightly flattened, squarish form, and is 

 marked both above and beneath by several 

 radiated shields or bony tubercles of consi- 

 derable size : from each side the abdomen 

 springs a lengthened cirrus, which supplies 

 j the place of a ventral fin : from the thorax 

 ! the body decreases suddenly in diameter, 

 | and is marked into several divisions or trans- 

 verse segments ; the tail is small and slightly 

 | rounded ; and the pectoral fins are large, of 

 a rounded shape, with an indented outline : 

 the eyes are large and protuberant, and the 

 snout of a sub-conical form, but with a slight 

 dilatation towards the tip. The colour of 

 this fish is whitish, with a cast of pale brown. 

 The FLYING PEGASUS {Pegasus volans) is 

 somewhat smaller than the preceding : snout 

 much elongated, flattened, rounded, and 

 slightly dilated at the tip ; marked by a 

 longitudinal channel, and denticulated on 

 the edges : on the head a rhomboidal depres- 

 sion, and behind it two deep sub-pentagonal 

 cavities : last joints of the body, next the 

 tail, pointed on each side. 



The SWIMMING PEGASUS (Pegasus natans) 

 is of a much more slender shape than that 

 of the P. volans: colour yellowish brown, 



NG PKOA.SDS. (P, N/ 



whitish beneath; snout slender, slightly 

 dilated and rounded at the tip : pectoral 

 fins rounded, and of moderate size ; dorsal 

 situated on the middle of the back ; tail 

 small, and slightly rounded : ventral cirri 

 slender and flexible. 



PEKAN, or WOOD-SHOCK. The name 

 given to a species of Marten (.the Maries 

 I Canadensis) found in North America. 

 | PELECANID^E. The name given to a 

 i family of Natatores or Swimming Birds. 

 I They have the hind toe united with the 

 : others by a single membrane ; they are ex- 

 I cellent swimmers, often perch on trees, and 

 : have short legs : their beak is long, the edge 

 I of it generally toothed ; and the skin of the 

 ! throat is more or less extensible, forming a 

 j bag in which they keep the fish as they 

 ! catch them, to feed their young. They are 

 \ a large, voracious, and wandering tribe, 

 i living for the most part on the ocean, flying 

 with ease and swiftness, and never visiting 

 the land for any length of time but at the 

 I season of incubation. 



PELICAN. (Pelecanus.) This is a genus 

 containing several large web-footed species 

 of birds, residing on rivers, lakes, or along the 

 sea-coast, and preying on fish. They have a 

 long,straight, broad, and much depressed bill; 

 upper mandibles flattened, terminated by a 

 nail, or very strong hook, the lower formed 

 by two bony branches, which are depressed, 

 flexible, and united at the tip ; and from 

 these branches is suspended a naked skin in 

 form of a pouch ; face and throat naked ; 

 nostrils basal, in the form of narrow longitu- 

 dinal slits ; legs short and strong ; all the 

 four toes connected by a web ; wings of 

 moderate dimensions. " The expansive 

 pouch, whose elasticity is well known to all 

 who have witnessed (he shapes into which it 

 is stretched and formed by the itinerant 

 showmen, will hold a considerable number 

 of fish, and thus enables the bird to dispose 

 of the superfluous quantity which may be 

 taken during fishing excursions, either for 

 its own consumption or for the nourishment 

 of its young. In feeding the nestlings and 

 the male is said to supply the wants of the 

 female when sitting in the same manner 

 the under mandible is pressed against the 

 neck and breast, to assist the bird in dis- 

 gorging the contents of the capacious pouch, 

 and during this action the red nail of the 

 upper mandible would appear to come in 

 contact with the breast, thus laying the 

 foundation, in all probability, for the fable 

 that the Pelican nourishes her young with 

 her blood, and for the attitude in which the 

 imagination of painters has placed the bird 

 in books of emblems, &c., with the blood 

 spirting from the wounds made by the 

 terminating nail of the upper mandible into 

 the gaping mouths of her offspring." ro- 

 derip. Pelicans are gregarious, and fish is 

 their favourite food : they store up their 

 prey in their gular pouch, from which it is 

 gradually transferred to the oesophagus, as 

 the process of digestion goes on ; but when 

 harassed or pursued, they readily reject the 

 contents of the stomach, like the Gull tribe. 

 Though remarkable for their voracity, some 

 of the species have been trained to fish in 

 the service of man. The species are widely 

 spread throughout the world, but are not nu- 

 merous. In external appearance the sexes 

 very nearly resemble each other. 



The COMMON PELICAN. (Pelecanus onocro- 

 talus.) The colour of the Pelican is white, 

 faintly tinged with flesh or light rose colour, 

 which is brightest in the breeding season ; 

 gullet with a bright yellow pouch. The first 

 quill-feathers and spurious wings are black ; 

 the bag at the throat is flaccid, membranous, 

 and capable of great distension ; naked space 

 round the eyes and at the base of the bill, 

 where the frontal feathers form a point, 

 flesh-colour; the upper mandible bluish, with 

 a crimson line running along the top, reddish 

 at the base, yellowish at the tip, and the 

 terminal nail red ; irides hazel ; feet livid; 

 tail short. Length between five and six feet; 

 expanse of wings twelve or thirteen feet. 

 The young are distinguished by the pre- 

 valence of ash-colour in their plumage. 

 About the middle of September, flocks of 



