NATATORES. 439 



the skin of the throat is capable of being dilated ; the wings are 

 long and powerful ; the feet short and robust ; the tail consists 

 of twelve, fourteen, twenty or twenty-four feathers. 



Though their completely webbed feet seem to be perfect oars, 

 peculiarly adapting these birds to an aquatic life, yet a very large 

 part of them do not swim or dive at all, but perch on trees. 

 They all fly well, and some, from the broad expanse of their 

 wings, have uncommon powers of flight. Soaring far out over 

 the ocean, when a fish first arrests their attention, they plunge 

 down upon it, and instantly rise again into the air. 



The birds of this family nestle and roost either on rocks or 

 lofty trees ; the eggs are encased with a soft, absorbent, chalky 

 substance laid over the hard shell ; the young are, at first, cov- 

 ered with long and flossy blackish down. They remain a great 

 while in the nest, and when they leave it, are generally equal 

 or superior to the adults in weight. The species are not very 

 numerous, but are found in the seas and around the coasts of 

 most parts of the globe. The plumage is usually black, (often 

 glossed with metallic reflections,) and white. 



This family may be arranged into the Pelicans proper, (Toti- 

 palmes, of Cuvier,) the Cormorants, the Darters, the Frigate 

 Birds, the Gannets, and the Phaetons. 



PELICANS PROPER. 



The True Pelicans, Pelecanus, are large and heavy birds, 

 with very long, rather narrow, and rounded wings; the tail is 

 short, broad, rounded, with twenty to twenty-four feathers, which 

 are broad, and abruptly pointed. A pouch which hangs under 

 the lower mandible, is capable of containing a large quantity of 

 water. It has been said by some writers, that this pouch "ena- 

 bles these birds to dispose of a superabundance of fish, which 

 they take, either for their own use, or the nourishment of their 

 young," and this has been' the generally received idea. Audu- 

 bon, however, who often noticed flocks of these birds, says "the 

 idea that the Pelicans keep fish or water in their pouches to con- 

 vey them to their young, is quite erroneous." He states, as the 

 result of his observations, that the water is immediately forced 

 out between the partially closed mandibles; and the fish, "unless 

 larger than those on which they usually feed," are instantly 

 swallowed, though afterwards disgorged for the benefit of the 

 young. The Pelicans have long been celebrated as symbols of 

 maternal love. Books of emblems have depicted this bird as 

 tearing open the breast to nourish its young with its blood, but 

 this representation is not well founded. The fact appears to be, 



