THE FRIGATE PELICAN. XI 



I know only two other birds that perform the same action: one of them is 

 the Forked-tail Hawk, the other our swift or Chimney Swallow; but neither 

 of them is so expert as the Frigate Pelican. It sometimes happens that this 

 bird accidentally drops a stick while travelling towards its nest, when, if this 

 should happen over the water, it plunges after it and seizes it with its bill 

 before it has reached the waves. 



The nests are usually placed on the south side of the keys, and on such 

 trees as hang over the water, some low, others high, several in a single tree, 

 or only one, according to the size of the mangrove, but in some cases lining 

 the whole side of the island. They are composed of sticks crossing each 

 other to the height of about two inches, and are flattish, but not very large. 

 When the birds are incubating, their long wings and tail are seen extending 

 beyond the nest for more than a foot. The eggs are two or three, more 

 frequently the latter number, measure two inches and seven-eighths in 

 length, two in breadth, being thus of a rather elongated form, and have a 

 thick smooth shell, of a greenish-white colour, frequently soiled by the filth 

 of the nests. The young are covered with yellowish-white down, and look 

 at first as if they had no feet. They are fed by regurgitation, but grow 

 tardily, and do not leave the nest until they are able to follow their parents 

 on wing. 



At that period the plumage of the young females is marbled with grey 

 and brown, with the exception of the head and the lower parts, which are 

 white. The tail is about half the length it attains at the first moult, and is 

 brownish-black, as are the primaries. After the first change of plumage, the 

 wings become longer, and their flight is almost as elegant and firm as that of 

 older birds. 



The second spring plumage of this sex is brownish-black on the upper 

 parts, that colour extending over the head and around the neck in irregular 

 patches of brown, continued in a sharp angle towards the breast, but sepa- 

 rated on its sides by the white that ascends on either side of the neck 

 towards the head. The lower tail-coverts are brownish-black, as are the 

 lower parts of the belly and flanks; the shoulders alone remaining as at first. 

 The tail and wings are perfect. 



The third spring, the upper parts of the head and neck are of a purer 

 brownish-black, which extends down to the extremity of the angle, as are 

 the feathers of the belly and the lower tail-coverts, the dark colour reaching 

 now to within five inches of the angle on the breast. The white of the 

 intermediate space has become much purer; here and there light tints of 

 bronze appear; the feet, which at first were dull yellow, have become of a 

 rich reddish-orange, and the bill is pale blue. The bird is now capable of 



