33G VERTEBRATA. 



pairs like .sw.iiis al)<>\.' his ln-ail, rather low ; ami mlds that they arc also seen flying in large flocks 

 like tliose l.inls. llasseUjiiist saw it at Duniietta in Egypt. He also adds, in his chapter on the 

 arrival there of migrating birds, that it comes to Egypt in tlio middle of September. " In Hying," 

 savs lie, "they form an acute angle, like the common wild geese when they migrate. In the 

 snnnner tliev iidiabit the l>lack Sea ami coasts of Greece ; and in their migration remain for a 

 few davs near Smvriia and other parts of the coasts of Natolia, bat never stray far from the con- 

 tinent ; t!uv tlv V. r\ hiijh. Some of them remain at Damietta, and in the islands of the Delta in 

 the MediterraJiean, bnt the greater part go to Egypt." They appear in some of tlie Egyptian 

 drawings on the ancii-nt monuments. 



The Amkiucax I'klican, P. cri/l/irorfi>/nchus, held by many to be identical witli the preced- 

 ing, and greatly resembling it, is fonnd in various parts of America, in Florida, Louisiana, Missis- 

 sippi, Missouri. I'tah, California, the West Indies, the isthmus of I'anania, «fcc. In the Fur Coun- 

 tries it is met with up to latitude 01° north, but is seldom found within two hundred miles of the 

 .sea-co.ist. They deposit their eggs usually on small rocky islands in lakes and rivers, or on the banks 

 of cascades wliere they can scarcely be approached, but still are by no means shy. They live to- 

 gether generally in Hocks of from six to fourteen, and fly low and heavily, sometimes abreast, at 

 others in an oblique line ; and they are often seen to pass close over a building, or within a few 

 yards of a party of men, without exhibiting any signs of fear. For the purpose of surprising their 

 prey, they haunt eddies near water-falls, and devour great quantities of carp and other fish. They 

 can oidy swallow, apparently, ■when opening the moutli sideways and somewhat upward like the 

 shark. AVhen surfeited with food, they doze on the water, or on some sand-shoal projecting into 

 or surrounded by it, wdiere they remain a great part of their time in gluttonous inactivity digest- 

 ing their overgorging meal. At such times they may be easily captured, as they have then great 

 difficulty in starting into flight, particularly if the pouch is loaded with fish. They sometimes, 

 though rarely, perch on trees. 



The Brown Pelican, P./usais, is smaller than the preceding, being about four feet long, and 

 confined exclusively to the Avarmer parts of the coast of America, being common in the Southern 

 States, Mexico, and the "West Indies, and the northern parts of the continent of South America. 

 Its habits are similar to tliose of the preceding. 



There are some other species, all resembling those we have described, in their habits. 



CORMORANTS, GANNETS, FRIGATE BIRDS, TROPIC BIRDS, ETC. 



The Cormorants are large, greedy, and powerful water birds, widely distributed over the globe. 

 They are usually found at sea, yet frequently in the neighborhood of fresh waters, and feed upon 

 mollusca and fishes, especially eels, which they pursue under water with the greatest activity. 

 They fly well, and often perch and make their nests on trees ; but the nest is also frequently con- 

 structed on the ground or in the holes of rocks, according to the situations inhabited by the birds. 

 When fishing, they often rise to the surface with the fish across the bill, throw it up into the air, 

 and catch it again with the head foremost, so as to swallow it with greater facility. According 

 to Mr. "Waterton, the struggle between a cormorant and a large eel often lasts a considerable time 

 before the bird can dispose comfortably of its prey. After the eel has been got down for the first 

 time, it frequently struggles violently to release itself from its disagreeable quarters, and continues 

 to wriggle up backward until a considerable portion of its tail is visible at the cormorant's mouth ; 

 and this process may be repeated two or three times before the victim becomes so exhausted as 

 to submit quietly to its fate. In some cases, however, it appears that when the cormorant finds 

 his prey is so large as to threaten to be troubicsome, he takes the precaution to disable it, by tak- 

 ing it to the shore and beating it about with his bill. 



Gouts rilALACROCORAX: Phalacrocorax. — To this belongs the Common or Black Cormo- 

 rant, P. carbo — Graculus carho of Gray — size of a goose ; three feet long. The nests arc made of 

 sticks, sea-weed, grass, and other coarse materials, sometimes on the banks of rivers, and sometimes 

 on trees. It is common on the shores of Greenland, where the natives make use of its tough skin for 

 garments, and of its pouch as floats for their fishing tackle. It is also found along the coasts of 

 Europe, Asia, and those of America from Baffin's Bay to the Carolinas. It is a most dextrous 



