1869.] MR. D. G. ELLIOT ON THE GENUS PELECANUS. 983 
type of one of the two groups which the Pelicans seem naturally to 
comprise—that one in which the feathers of the forehead form a 
concave line upon the culmen. It is easily distinguished in the 
mature state from all the other species by the thick mass of recurving 
feathers upon the head (which are loose and fall over on each side, 
producing a conspicuous crest), by the lanceolate feathers of the 
breast, and by its comparatively shorter tarsus. The present species 
being comparatively recently known, having been described by 
Bruch, in ‘ Isis,’ in 1832, its synonymy is not in any way confused 
—quite a relief among this family of birds, so many of which have 
their synonyms so sadly involved that it seems to be almost a hopeless 
task to restore them all to their proper places. 
This species, according to Baron Feldegg, arrives in Dalmatia in 
the spring and autumn, and prefers the river Naranta, near Fort 
Opers, where it is bordered with morasses. Count v.d. Mihle, ‘Orn. 
Griech.’ p. 132, as quoted in Bree’s ‘ Birds of Europe,’ says “it is 
very plentiful in Greece the whole year through; and on many 
lakes and swamps, such as Zigeri, Kopai, and Paralynni, are broad 
colonies of them. They are also very plentiful on the lakes of 
Missolonghi and Thermopyle. In places incredibly difficult to reach, 
where floating islands are found, they place their nests very thickly 
together, supported among the reeds and rushes, and generally 
soaked with wet. ‘The whole neighbourhood of these congregated 
nests is covered with their dull white dung and a multitude of foul 
fish which they have dropped about, and which make the spot 
horribly offensive. The yellow-grey young birds have a very un- 
sightly appearance, and these never-satisfied screamers, with their 
shrill shrieking voice, and the unformed head hanging on the crop, 
make an unsightly picture.” 
PELECANUS RUFESCENS. 
Red-backed Pelican, Lath. Gen. Syn. vol. iil. pt. 2, p. 584, sp. 6 
1785). 
‘ Pelecanus rufescens, Gmel. Syst. Nat. vol. i. (1788) p. 571. 
sp. 13; Reich. Syst. Av. pl. 38. fig. 386, & pl. 38. figs. 878 & 
384, 385 (juv.); Riipp. Atl. t. 21, p. 31; id. Reise im nordl. Afrika, 
Zool. p. 439; Licht. Abhandl. Akad. Wiss. Berl. (1838) t. 25. 
sp. 5, & tab. 3. fig. 3; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. vol. ii. p. 162; 
Bonnat. Ency. Méth. Ornith. (1790) p. 44; Steph. Shaw’s Gen. 
Zool. xiii. p. 114; Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 584. sp. 6; Gray, 
Gen. of Birds, vol. iii. sp. 6; Sclat. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1868) p. 267, 
pl. 26 (juv.). 
P. cristatus, Less. Traité d Ornith. p. 602 (1831). 
P. pheospilus, Wagl. Isis (1832) p. 1233. 
P. roseus, Donnd. Zool. Beitr. vol. il. pt. 1, p. 848. sp. 9; 
Bonnat. Ency. Méthod. Ornith. (1790) p. 43; Gmel. Syst. Nat. 
(1788) p. 570. sp. 9. 
P. philippensis, Jerd. B. of Ind. iii. p. 858 Guv.); Gmel. Syst. 
Nat. (1788) vol. i. p. 571. sp. 11; Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. 
p. 883. sp. 5 (1790); Gray, Gen. of Birds, vol. ii. sp. 2 (1849) ; 
