2 THE PELICAN OF AFRICA. 



chap hangs the pouch, or bag, which is capable of containing 

 fifteen quarts of water, and reaches the whole length of the bill 

 as far as the neck. The bird has the power of wrinkling up this bag 

 into the hollow of the under-jaw : it is not covered with feathers, 

 but with a very smooth and soft down, and when empty, is scarcely 

 perceptible ; and Tertre assures us, that when filled, it is capable 

 of containing as much fish as would suffice sixty men for dinner. 

 Such is the wonderful conformation of this extraordinary bird. 



The pelican was once known all over Europe, although it 

 now seems to have deserted the coasts. In the island of Manilla, 

 the bird is of a rose colour; but in America, ash-coloured; and 

 in Africa, white. They are all torpid and inactive. It is only 

 from the impulse of hunger, that they are excited to action ; and 

 without that irresistible stimulus, they would always continue in 

 fixed repose. Fabulous writers have asserted, that the pelican 

 fed its young with its own blood, and that its bag served as a 

 reservoir for water when it flew over the deserts. The first 

 story is absurd, and the latter is equally untrue ; for the pouch 

 is not used for water, but for fish. 



As this bird is not only in itself a curiosity, but rendered still 

 more interesting by the frequent allusions both of sacred and 

 profane writers, we shall enlarge a little on its subject, and sub- 

 join the description of it by Father Labat, who had accurately 

 studied its manners. 



" The pelican," says that judicious observer, " has strong 

 wings furnished with a thick plumage of ash colour : (this is the 

 colour of the pelican of America ; that of Africa, as already ob 

 served, being white,) and the feathers on the rest of the body 

 being exactly the same. The eyes are small, compared to the 

 size of its head ; and there is something in the countenance very 

 melancholy and sad. 



" They are torpid and inactive to the greatest degree, so that 

 nothing can exceed their indolence but their gluttony; and it is 

 only by hunger that they are excited to move, or they would 

 continually remain in a stupid kind of sleep. When they have, 

 with exertion, raised themselves about forty feet from the sur- 

 face of the sea, they turn their head with one eye downwards, 

 and in that position continue their flight. As soon as they per- 

 ceive a fish sufficiently near the surface, with the swiftness of 

 an arrow they suddenly dart down, surprise the victim before it 

 can escape them, and carefully preserve it in their pouch : again 

 they rise, and continue hovering over the stream until their bag 

 is completely filled, when they retire to land, and greedily devour 

 (he produce of their morning toil. As evening approaches, they 

 feel another hungry call, and again pursue their flight towards 

 the rivers, where they remain till their bag is filled ; when they 



