THE PELICAN. 761 



'' In the summer time the head and back of the neck are black sprinkled with hair-like 

 feathers of a pure white, and elongated on the back of the head so as to form a kind of 

 crest. The upper part of the body is brown mottled with black, and the front of the 

 throat and the whole of the under surface are velvety bluish black. There is a white 

 patch on the thighs, and the legs and toes are likewise black. The young bird is much 

 lighter in colour, without the black on the head or breast, and the lower parts of the body 

 of a dull greyish white mottled with a little brown. The total length of this bird is about 

 three feet; the female is a few inches shorter. The pouch under the throat is yellow 

 edged with white. 



Another well-known British species of this genus is the Crested Cormorant, 

 Green Cormorant, or SiiAG, a bird which can at once be distinguished from the 

 preceding species by the green colour of the plumage and the difference in size, the 

 length of an adult male being only twenty-seven inches. In habits this species 

 resembles the common Cormorant. 



The nest of the Crested Cormorant is placed upon a ledge of rock, generally in a spot 

 very difdcult of access, and like that of the preceding species gives forth a horrible 

 stench caused by the mixture of decaying seaweed and putrefying fish. The nest is made 

 rather ingeniously of stalks and roots of seaweed, lined with grass in the centre. The 

 colour of this Cormorant is rich dark green, except the wing and tail quill-feathers, which 

 are black. The young birds are greenish brown above, and brown and white below. 



We now arrive at the well-known Pelican, which is universally accepted as the type 

 of the family. 



This bird is found spread over many portions of Africa and Asia, and is also found 

 in some parts of Southern Europe. It is a sociable bird, assembling in large flocks, and 

 often mingling with the flamingoes, its white plumage contrasting finely with the scarlet 

 raiment of its long-necked allies. The wings of the Pelican are very long and powerful, 

 and the flight is singularly bold and graceful. Oftentimes the birds fly in large bodies, 

 sometimes forming themselves into some definite shape, sometimes spreading themselves 

 in any order and then gathering together into a compact mass, and often rising to such a 

 height as to be almost beyond ken in spite of their large size. 



The pouch of the Pelican is enormously large, capable of containing two gallons of 

 water, and is employed by the bird as a basket wherein to carry the fish which it has 

 caught. The Pelican is a good fisherman, hovering above the water w^atching for a shoal 

 of fish near the surface. Down sweeps the bird, scoops up a number of fish in its 

 capacious pouch, and then generally goes off homeward. Sometimes it is interrupted by 

 a large species of hawk, which robs the Pelican in a very ingenious manner. As the 

 industrious bird flies home laden with the finny spoil, the hawk swoops down upon it and 

 ruffles its wings in so threatening a manner that the Pelican screams with terror. The 

 hawk snatches the fish out of the bird's pouch and flies off, leaving the poor Pelican to 

 return and replenish its pouch. It is a rather curious fact, that in the Pelican the tongue, 

 which is so large and curiously constructed in many birds, is almost wanting, and is 

 represented by a little fleshy knob hardly the size of a finger-top. In spite of the large 

 size of the pouch, the Pelican can wrinkle it up in such a manner that it is barely 

 perceptible. 



The nest of the Pelican is placed on the ground in some retired spot, usually an island 

 in the sea, or the borders of some inland lake or a river. It is made of grasses, and 

 contains two or three white eggs. The female sits on the eggs, and her mate goes off to 

 fish for her ; and when the young are hatched they are fed by the parents, who turn the 

 fish out of their pouches into the mouths of the young. In order to perform this 

 operation, they press the bill against their breast, so that its scarlet tip looks like a blood- 

 spot against the white feathers, and has given rise to the fable that the Pelican feeds her 

 young with her own blood. 



In spite of the huge size of the beak and pouch, the Pelican can preen its plumage 

 with perfect ease, and uses its feet to' those parts of the neck and head which it cannot 



