FAM. LI. MAN-O'-WAR BIRDS 



307 



air. They often pursue and steal the captured food of gulls, 

 terns, and other birds. 



1. Man-o'-War Bird (128. Fregclta dquila). — A tropical, 

 large, long-winged, black, ocean bird, with long, deeply forked 

 tail. The female is a 

 dark brown bird with 

 the breast and upper 

 belly white. The 

 young is like the fe- 

 male, but also has the 

 head and neck white. 

 This bird spends most 

 of its time on the 

 wing, and usually over 

 the water. It is a 

 kind of sea buzzard. 



The man-o'-war birds nest together in thousands in low bushes 

 near the coast. 



Length, 40 ; wing, 25 (22-27) ; tail, 18 ; tarsus, 1 ; culmen, 4|. Tropi- 

 cal and subtropical coasts. In America, north to Florida and Texas, and 

 casually to Ohio, Kansas, Nova Scotia, etc. 



Mau-o'-War Bird 



FAMILY LII. PELICANS (PELECANIDiE) 



A small family (12 species) of very large, short-tailed birds, 

 with very long, peculiarly pouched bills, the pouch being used 

 like a dip net for catching its fishy food. Under the skin there 

 are great air sacs like those of the gannets. This makes them 

 peculiarly buoyant on the water, and gives them great grace of 

 movement. In the air, also, their movements are easy and 

 strong, but not very rapid. They give a few flaps of the wings, 

 then sail a short distance, then again give a few flaps of the 

 wings. They are usually in flocks, and it is interesting to 

 see the alternate flapping and sailing of the whole as though 

 directed by a leader. These birds nest in large colonies, and 

 are found in all the warmer parts of the world. Some are 

 exclusively marine, and some are found far from the coast. 



