132 Order IV. Accipitres 



in Scotland, where eyries were formerly not uncommon. 

 The large nest of sticks and turf, lined with softer 

 materials, is built in a tree or on a rocky islet in a lake, 

 while an old ruin makes a good substitute for a rock, 

 and in America the birds often form colonies. The 

 eggs, two or three in number, are creamy white with 

 fine blotches of purplish or reddish brown and greyish 

 lilac. The Fish-hawk, as it is sometimes termed, lives 

 entirely on fish, and it is a magnificent sight to see 

 a pair of these unsuspicious birds careering over the 

 waters of a lake, uttering their loud screaming cries, 

 and plunging into the water after their prey. They 

 are brown above and white below, the head and upper 

 breast exhibiting both colours. 



ORDER V. STBGANOPODBS 



The members of this Order stand alone among birds 

 in having all the toes connected by full webs, and the 

 first toe turned somewhat forward, while they have 

 stout curved claws. The bill is long and pointed in 

 Gannets, long and hooked at the tip in Cormorants, 

 and is furnished with a big pouch underneath in 

 Pelicans ; Cormorants, moreover, have a very long 

 neck. The feet are set far back, so that walking is 

 difficult ; the wings are long and ample ; and the tail 

 consists of strong stiff feathers. They are all water 

 birds and for the most part marine, though Pelicans 

 and sometimes Cormorants build inland. They breed 

 in colonies. The blackish nestlings are blind and 

 naked, but soon become covered with white down. 

 Pelicans are not now found in Britain, but their bones 

 have been dug up in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. 



