CLASS AVES : ORDER STEGANOPOBES. 155 



ORDER STEGANOPODES. 



General Characteristics. — The Foot-covered birds are 

 readily recognized by the totipalmate feet and unfeathered 

 gular pouch — a sac beneath the bill sometimes holding a 

 gallon, and used for a temporary larder. 



Pelecanidse.— The White Pelican* swims upon the sur- 

 face, darting down its long bill at the fish swimming near, 

 till its pouch is filled, when it retires to the sand-banks and 

 stands with its fellows in long rows, 

 while the. contents of the sac gradually 

 pass into the stomach, as the process 

 of digestion goes on. 



The Brown Pelican flies ten to 

 twenty feet above the surface, watch- 

 ing the shoals of fish beneath, till a 

 chance offers, when it falls flatwise, 

 often with a force that immerses the 

 whole body,f scooping up one or more 

 with its pouch. Then rising, it re- 

 peats the operation as often as the 

 capacity of its pocket will permit. 



Graculidae. — The Cormorant I 

 pursues its prey under the water, using ■ 

 its wings to increase its speed. It is 



fond of eels, but often has a hard Brown Pelican. tV. 



battle to keep one down, sometimes 



struggling for half an hour, and then taking it to a rock and 



that the tail projects and it can be introduced folly into the stomach only after the 

 head has been digested. ' 



* The White Pelican (P. erythrorhynchus) ranges from Florida to the northwest 

 coast. The Brown Pelican (p.fns/ms) from the coast of North Carolina around to 

 California. The former is remarkable for a homy excrescence on the top of the 

 upper mandible. 



t This dash upon the water would be fatal to itself if it were not for a thick layer 

 of air-cells just beneath the skin, which breaks the force of the blow. 



i Cormorants are abundant in all parts of the world, and by the Chinese are 

 tamed and used for fishing, by placing a ring at the base of the neck to prevent the 

 bird from swallowing the game. 



