THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY 



morning and evening, as at these times the fish approach 

 the surface of the water. 



At night, when their labours are over, and they have be- 

 come glutted with food, they retire some distance from the 

 shore, and remain perched on trees till the next day calls 

 for a renewal of their exertions. Here also they repose 

 during most part of the day, sitting in a solemn and awk- 

 ward posture, looking as if they were half asleep. Their 

 attitude is with the head resting upon the pouch, and this 

 closely applied to the breast. Thus they spend their life 

 between sleeping and eating, never breaking their repose 

 till the calls of hunger render it indispensably necessary to 

 fill their magazine for a fresh meal. Although their usual 

 and favourite food is fish, when this fails them, they satisfy 

 their appetites with reptiles and small quadrupeds. 



The female lays from two to four eggs; some species 

 breeding on rocks near the water, making large deep nests, 

 lined with soft weeds, others constructing them in man- 

 grove and other trees overhanging the water. They are 

 affectionate parents, although, from their natural timidity, 

 they make but little resistance when robbed of their ofl- 

 spring. The young, when excluded from the shell, are fed 

 with fish that have been macerated for some time in the 

 pouch of the mother. 



These birds are easily tamed, but they arc useless and 

 disagreeable domestics, as their insatiable gluttony renders 

 it difficult to supply them with a sufficiency of food, and 

 their flesh is so unsavoury and rank, as never to be eaten 

 except from dire necessity; it is probable, however, that 

 they might be trained for the purposes of fishing, in the 

 same manner as the cormorant; indeed, one writer assures 

 us that he saw a Pelican in South America, that was under 

 such command, as to go off in the morning and return be- 

 fore night, with its pouch distended with prey, part of 

 which it was made to disgorge, and the remainder it was 

 permitted to retain as a reward. Clavigero, in his History 

 of Mexico, also states, that the Indians, in order to procure 

 a supply of fish without any trouble, break the wings of a 

 live Pelican, and after tying the bird to a tree, conceal 

 themselves near the place; the screams of the suffering bird 

 attract other Pelicans to the place, who, he says, throw up 

 a portion of the provisions from their pouch for their im- 

 prisoned companion; as soon as the savages perceive this 

 to be done, they rush to the spot, and after leaving a little 

 for the bird, carry oflf the remainder. 



According to Faber, this bird is not destitute of other 

 qualifications. One was kept in the collection of the Duke 

 of Bavaria above forty years, which seemed to be possessed 

 of extraordinary sagacity. It was very fond of being in 

 the company of mankind, and appeared extravagantly at- 

 tached to musical sounds; if any one played on an instru- 



ment, it would stand perfectly still, turn its ear towards the 

 sounds, and with its head stretched out seem to experience 

 great pleasure. 



The Pelican attains great longevity; Gesner relates that 

 the emperor Maximilian had a tame one that lived above 

 eighty years, and always attended his army on their march. 

 Aldrovandus also mentions one of these birds, which was 

 kept at Mechlin, and was supposed to be fifty years old. 



Pelicans are found in the warm and temperate regions 

 of the globe, and are generally to be seen in large flocks; 

 in some places they are exceedingly numerous ; thus, 

 travellers assert that the lakes of India and Egj'pt, and 

 the rivers Nile and Stryman, when viewed from the 

 mountains, appear white with the vast flocks of these birds 

 that continually cover their surface. 



These birds were early observed by mankind, for we 

 find them classed among those which were forbidden as 

 food to the Israelites as unclean, and are also alluded to in 

 the Psalms. It is difficult to determine whether the bird 

 spoken of by Aristotle, under the name of ni^ixav,* is 

 really the Pelican of modern writers or not, though this 

 seems to be the opinion of the French Academy. He says, 

 that this bird frequents the banks of rivers, and swallows 

 large quantities of shell fish, which, after having macerated 

 in a pouch or crop which precedes its stomach, disgorges 

 them to feed on the flesh, the heat having forced them to 

 open. Cicero, in his treatise on the nature of the gods, re- 

 peats this observation of the Greek naturalist, but calls the 

 bird Platalea, whilst Pliny gives it the name of Platea. 

 Buffian, in admitting that Aristotle had reference to the 

 Pelican, also observes, that his description of its habits does 

 not agree with those of our bird, being rather applicable to 

 the spoonbill. Plinj', however, does not confound them, 

 for, after describing the Platea, he gives a very good ac- 

 count of the Pelican under the name of Onocrutalus,^ at 

 the same time, it should be noticed that both Cicero and 

 Pliny, in speaking of the Platea, differ from Aristotle, in 

 saying that the shell fish are received into the stomach of 

 the bird, whilst the latter, as we have already stated, ob- 

 serves that they are macerated in a pouch which precedes 

 the true stomach. 



There is also considerable difficulty in determining the 

 species of this genus, some authors multiplying them to a 

 great extent, whilst others restrict them to two or three. 

 Thus Cuvier says there is no difference between the com- 

 mon Pelican, (P. onocratalus,) and the P. roseus, of 

 which Sonnerat states, that the manilleiisis is the young. 

 This has arisen in a great measure from the variations pro- 

 duced by age not having been sufficiently observed. It 

 may also arise from individuals of the same species, living 



* Book ix. chap. 10. t Book x. chap. QQ, 



