THE CRESTED PELICAN. 295 



the sea, is the favourite haunt of the PeKcan ; but it is not un- 

 common for it to perch on trees. The nest is formed of coarse 

 reedy grass, with a lining of finer quality ; it is generall}' made on 

 the ground, and is about eighteen inches in diameter, in which it 

 lays four, sometimes five, white eggs, but more frequently two, 

 slightly oblong, and alike at both ends. Fish forms its principal 

 food, which it captures chiefly in shallow inlets ; for it is no diver, 

 although on the wing it dashes upon a fish occasionally from a 

 great height, and that with such velocity that it submerges itself, 

 but its buoyancy brings it immediately to the surface. Occasionally 

 it flies very high, but it generally just poises itself over the 

 water. Notwithstanding its webbed feet, it often perches on trees 

 — a habit which Sonnerat describes as peculiar to the female in 

 the evening, after having fed and protected her young during 

 the day. 



Ti-iE Ckested Pelican. 



Synonyms. — Pelkanus crispus : Bonaparte, Temminck, Bmck. Pelican: 

 English authors. P. onocrotalns (var. Orientalis] : Linn, Pallas, Dal- 

 matian. liiesen-peUkun : German authors. 



The Crested Pelican, in common with the White Pelican, in- 

 habits the south-east of Europe and Africa, and is also found in 

 Hungary, Dalmatia, Greece, the Crimea, and the Ionian Islands, 

 as well as in Algeria, and, according to some authors, it is fre- 

 quently met with in China. 



It has white plumage, with the exception that the ends of the 

 feathers of the back and wings are black. The feathers of the 

 head and upper part of the neck are twisted up so as to form a 

 tolerably large tuft or crest : hence the name it bears. Its habitat 

 is i^rincipally the marshes round the Black Sea, and the isles 

 adjacent to the mouth of the Danube. 



Of their habits, travellers in these regions give very interesting 

 descriptions. Count Miikle states that they are plentiful on the 

 lakes of Missolonghi, and in the marshy groimds near Thermopjda;. 

 In situations incredibly difficult of access, especially on floating 

 islands, scarcely over the water-line, thej^ place their nests thickly 

 together, supported among reeds and rushes. The vicinity of 

 these congregated nests is rendered indescribably offensive by the 



