PELICANS. 319 



With the exception of the Phaetons, which 

 have many of the characters of the Laridoe, the 

 members of this Family have more or less naked 

 skin about the face, and on the throat, which 

 latter is dilatable : the tongue is very minute, 

 and the nostrils are mere slits, scarcely or not 

 at all perceptible; in the nestling bird, however, 

 they are open. They all live on fishes, are almost 

 exclusively marine, and nestle and roost either on 

 rocks or on lofty trees : the eggs are encased with 

 a soft, absorbent, chalky substance, laid over the 

 hard shell; the young are at first covered with long 

 and flossy blackish down; they remain long in the 

 nest, and when they leave it, are generally equal, 

 or superior to the adults in weight. 



The Pelecanida are found in the seas and around 

 the coasts of most parts of the globe : but the 

 species are npt numerous. The prevailing colours 

 of their plumage are black, often glossed with me- 

 tallic reflections, and white. 



GENUS PHALACRACORAX. (Bmss.) 



The Cormorants, to which genus belong two 

 out of the three species of Pelecanidce that in- 

 habit the British coasts, are distinguished by having 

 the beak long, straight, compressed, the upper 

 mandible terminating in a powerful hook, the base 

 connected with a membrane which extends to the 

 throat, which, as well as the face, is naked. The 

 legs are short, robust, and placed behind the mid- 

 dle of the body: the four toes connected, the 

 hind-toe jointed on the inner side of the tarsus; 

 the outer toe the longest ; the claw of the middle 

 toe comb-like on one edge. The wings moder- 



