THE ALLIES OF THE PIGEON: AVES 377 



Pelicans and Allies. The members of the group Steganop'- 

 odes (Gr. steganos, covered; pous (pod), foot) differ from 

 all other web-footed birds in that all four toes are con- 

 nected by a web (Fig. 195). They are aquatic, usually marine 

 birds, and feed mainly on fishes. To this group belong the 

 pelicans (Fig. 194), remarkable for the pouch beneath the 

 bill, which is used as a scoop to capture food or as a storage 



FIG. 194. Photograph of White Pelican 



reservoir. There are about a dozen species of pelicans distrib- 

 uted over the world, of which two species, the brown and the 

 white pelican, occur within the limits of the United States. 

 White pelicans (Fig. 194) have the habit of surrounding 

 schools of small fishes and driving them with loud beatings 

 of wings into shallower water, where they can be scooped up 

 in the great pouch and devoured at leisure. The figure shows 

 the peculiar horny outgrowth which appears on the bill of 

 the male at the breeding-season. 



Ducks, Geese, and Swans. The group An' seres (Lat. anser, 

 goose) is made up of water-birds which have the three front 

 toes webbed and the tail comparatively well-developed. The 



