FRIGATE PELICAN. 499 



claymore ; all is right ; and he sweeps away, shooting to this side and 

 that, in search of prey. 



Mid-day has arrived, and threatening clouds obscure the horizon ; the 

 breeze, ere felt, rufBes the waters around ; a thick mist advances over the 

 deep ; the sky darkens, and as the angry blasts curl the waves, the thun- 

 der mutters afar ; all nature is involved in gloom, and all is in confusion, 

 save only the Man-of-war Bird, who gallantly meets the gale. If he can- 

 not force his way against the storm, he keeps his ground, balancing him- 

 self like a hawk watching his prey beneath ; but now the tempest rages, 

 and rising obliquely, he shoots away, and ere long surmounts the tumul- 

 tuous clouds, entering a region calm and serene, wliere he floats secure 

 until the world below has resumed its tranquillity. 



I have frequently observed the Frigate Bird scratch its head with its 

 feet while on wing; and this happening one day, when the bird fell through 

 the air, as it is accustomed to do at such times, until it came within shot, I 

 killed it when almost over my head, and immediately picked it up. I 

 had been for years anxious to know what might be the use of the pecti- 

 nated claws of birds ; and on examining both its feet with a glass, I found 

 the racks crammed with insects, such as occur on the bird's head, and es- 

 pecially around the ears. I also observed that the pectinated claws of 

 birds of this species were much longer, flatter, and more comb-like than 

 those of any other species with which I am acquainted. I now therefore 

 feel convinced, that,^ however useful this instrument may be on other oc- 

 casions, it is certainly employed in cleansing parts of the skin of birds 

 which cannot be reached by the bill. 



At times these birds may be seen chasing and jostling each other as if 

 engaged in a froUc, after which they bear away on extended wings, and 

 fly in a direct course until out of sight. But although their flight is easy 

 and powerful, in a degree not surpassed by any other bird, they move 

 with great difficulty on the ground. They can rise, however, from a sand- 

 bar, no matter how low and level it may be. At such times, as well as 

 when sitting on the water, which it occasionally does, the bird raises its 

 wings almost perpendicularly, spreads its tail half erect, and at the first 

 flap of the former, and simultaneous stroke of the latter, on the ground 

 or the water, bounces away. Its feet, however, are of little service be- 

 yond what I have mentioned, and the supporting of its body when it has 

 alighted on a branch, on which it rarely stands very erect, although it 

 moves sideways on it, as Parrots sometimes do. It never dives, its bill 



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