TOTIPALMATE SWIMMERS. 
The name Snakebird is derived from the bird’s habit of swimming with 
the body submerged, when the long, sinuous neck, appearing above the 
water, readily suggestsasnake. Atother times Snakebirds mount high 
in the air and sail about, like Hawks, in wide circles. They build a 
large, well-made nest in a bush or tree, generally over the water, and 
lay four bluish white, chalky eggs. 
Cormorants nest in large colonies, generally on isolated islets, but 
sometimes in remote swamps. The nests are placed closely together 
on the ground, in bushes, and less frequently in trees, according to 
the nature of the bird’s haunts. 
Cormorants feed on fish which they catch by pursuing them under 
the water. They dive from the surface of the water like Ducks, or 
from a low perch, but not from the air, as do the Gannets. 
Pelicans nest in colonies, generally on some small island, building 
their nests on the ground or in bushes, and laying two or three large, 
white, chalky eggs. 
Brown Pelicans secure their food by plunging on it from the air, gen- 
erally from about twenty feet above the water. The sides of the bill 
are then bowed outward, the opening'widened, forming, with the pouch, 
an effective net in which fish, twelve and fourteen inches long, are cap- 
tured. 
White Pelicans, on the contrary, feed from the water, scooping up 
fishes as they swim. At times a flock of these birds may surround a 
school of small fish 1n shallow water and drive them shoreward, at the 
same time actively filling their pouches. 
Young Pelicans are fed on fish which they take from the pouch of 
the parent bird by thrusting their bills and heads well into it and prod- 
ding actively about for the food to be found there. Young Cormorants 
secure their food in a similar manner. 
Frigate Birds, of which only two species are known, have a greater 
expanse of wing in proportion to the weight of their body than any 
other bird. Their power of flight is consequently unexcelled and they 
may spend days in the air without tiring. Their feet are as weak as 
their wings are strong, and are of use only in perching. 
The food of Frigate Birds consists chiefly of fish, which they catch 
from near the surface of the water, or rob from Gulls and Terns by 
pursuing them, forcing them to disgorge their prey, and catching it ere 
it reaches the water. 
68 
