THE INDIAN OCEAN. 371 
from the coasts. This bird has great powers of 
flight, the extended wings covering a space of twelve 
feet. The throat is dilated into a capacious bag, 
which can be wrinkled up when not in use, but 
when the animal is fishing forms a convenient pouch, 
in which the prey is stored as it is caught, until it 
is filled, when the booty is borne to shore, to feed 
the callow young, or to be eaten at leisure. The 
pouch of a full-grown Pelican, when distended, will 
contain ten quarts of water. They fly to a long 
distance, and at a lofty elevation, and remain un- 
tired on the wing for a protracted period. A flock 
of Pelicans beating for prey is a splendid spectacle. 
Sometimes the whole troop soars upwards to an im- 
mense height, and then suddenly swoops down with 
arrowy velocity, splashing the sea in every direc- 
tion; presently they emerge, and again soar on high, 
till again they simultaneously dash down upon the 
shoals; and thus the flock perform their evolutions 
in concert, ranging over a wide bay, or a given space 
of water, with perfect order and regularity, and with 
astonishing rapidity. At other times they fly al- 
most at the very surface, beating the water with 
their wings, till the whole sea is one undistinguish- 
able mass of foam. 
In the beautiful poem of Montgomery, “The Peli- 
can Island,” which I have before quoted, the manners 
of these interesting birds are ably described :— 
“ Hager for food, their searching eyes they fix’d 
On ocean’s unroll’d volume, from a height 
That brought immensity within their scope ; 
Yet with such power of vision look’d they down, 
