288 



ZOOLOGICAL GAllDEiNS. 



SO highly distensible as to be capable of containing from 

 two to three gallons of water. It serves also as a 

 reservoir for the food which the old birds bring home 

 to their young, and which they disgorge into the throats 

 of the latter by pressing the bill upon the breast ; an 

 action that has given rise to the fable of the Pelican 

 feeding its young with its blood. In the same manner 

 the males supply the wants of the females when sitting. 



The White Pelicans nest in rocks on the shores of 

 the sea, of large rivers, and of lakes, in almost every 

 part of the old world, excepting the most northern 

 regions. Buffon gives a curious account of the manner 

 in which they sometimes act in concert when in pursuit 

 of their finny prey ; and this fact is confirmed by some 

 late observations of M. Roulin upon an American spe- 

 cies. The latter adds that when a single Pelican is in 

 search of food it wheels round and round at the height 

 of fifteen or twenty feet, and as soon as it perceives a 

 fish, darts upon it from above with inconceivable rapi- 

 dity, displacing the water around it for a considerable 

 distance. Should it fail in its attack, which rarely 

 happens, it rises again to repeat the same manoeuvre. 



In captivity the Pelicans, like most of the Swimming 

 Birds, are perfectly contented, harmless, and familiar. 

 Their flesh is said to be far from palatable. 





