WATER BIRDS 2S5 



The frigate or man-of-war bird is a very long-wingcd, long-tailed bird 

 of the ocean. Its legs are very weak, but it is a remarkable flyer. It is 

 found hundreds of miles from shore on the ocean. These birds live in the 

 southern waters of both hemispheres. In the Cocos-Keeling Islands, 

 Mr. H. O. Forbes says, they gain their living by forcing other fishing birds, 

 like the gannels and noddy terns, to disgorge the fishes they have caught. 



The cormorants are large, green-eyed, marine blackbirds. They are 

 common along the seashore. They feed chiefly on fish and are gregarious. 

 Their gular pouch is rudimentary as compared with that of the pelican. 

 The Chinese tame the cormorant and use it in catching fish. The pelican 

 is used for a like purpose in the East Indies. 



The pelicans are large birds, with very large bills and immense gular 

 pouches in which they catch the fish upon which they feed. The brown 

 pelican {Pdeca'nus fus'cus) of Florida is a sociable bird, about 4 feet in 

 height. It does not acquire its full colors until its third year. The neck 

 of the adult bird is in two colors, white and a rich blackish brown. The 

 back is a beautiful silvery gray-brown effect composed of many tints. 

 The top of the head is white or yellowish, the pouch a bluish purple or 

 greenish. The bill is a foot long and demands and supplies four pounds of 

 fish each day. Pelican Island, Florida, is the government reservation for 

 these birds (Fig. 2.32). 



The California brown pelican {Peleca'nus calif or'nicus) is found along the 

 Pacific coast from Galapagos to British Columbia. The beautiful great 

 white pelican (P. erythrorhyn'chos) is now rare. It is found in large western 

 inland lakes and in the Yellowstone National Park. The male has a pe- 

 culiar knob on the bill during the breeding season only. 



Order V. An'seres. — These birds have- flat, lamellated bills 

 (Fig. 233). The body is rather flat. The legs are far back on 

 the body, causing them to waddle when they walk and making 

 them good swimmers. Their toes are webbed. The feathers 

 are well oiled so they can go into the water. Geese spend less 

 time in the water than ducks do. The food is largely vegetable. 

 The swans, geese, and eider duck do not dive in feeding, but 

 thrust the head and neck under water, sometimes tipping up the 

 body. Marine ducks are expert divers. The wild geese, ducks, 

 and brant are migratory, but they are not so numerous as 

 formerly, since so many have been slaughtered for market and 

 sport 



The swan belongs to this order and is the largest of the Anseres. In 

 fact, it is one of our largest birds. Hornaday says it is pugnacious and 

 quarrelsome. The plumage of the trumpeter swan is white; the bill and 

 feet are black. The young are a dirty gray. The ' ' voice is like a blast from 

 a French horn," but is musical when given by a large flock in chorus. The 

 range is from the Gulf to the fur countries. They breed from Iowa north 

 and west to the Pacific coast. 



