28 



ELEMBNTS or ORMTHOLOGT. 



and South-eastern Europe. Other species of Pelicans are also 

 found in North and South America, and there are about ten 

 in all. Pelicans go in large troops, and though, like the Gannet, 

 no divers, they will, like that bird, sometimes dash down verti- 

 cally into the water from a great height in pursuit of the fish 

 on which they feed, resting a very brief time on the surface 

 of the water to swallow their prey, tossing up their bill and 

 distending the pouch beneath it. 



Fig. 26. 



The Oommon Pelican {Pelecamcs onoorotalm). 



Eeturning from such exotic creatures as Pelicans and Darters 

 to more familiar forms, when we think of Sea Birds, the Gulls 

 of our coasts come naturally before the mind. The Common 

 Gull (Larus canus) may serve as the type of a large group 

 which is spread over the whole world, and consists of atleastforty- 

 eight kinds, all remarkably similar in form, general coloration, 



