AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
61 
ROUGH BILLED PELICAN. 
P ELEC ANUS ERYTHRORYNCHOS. 
[Plate VI.] 
P. erythrorynchos. Gmel. i. 571. No. 15. — P. trachy- 
rynchos. Latham, index, 884. Phil. Trans, vol. 54, 
419. — Rough billed Pelican. Lath. Synops. 6. p. 586. 
Philadelphia Museum. 
The Pelicans belong to the family of Totipalmes, 
Cuv. which are distinguished by haying their hind toe 
united to the others by a continuous membrane, notwith- 
standing which organization, they are almost the only web 
footed birds which perch on trees. They almost all fly 
well, and have short legs. 
This genus, as instituted by Linnaeus, comprehended all 
of the palmated tribe, the base of whose bills are in a greater 
or less degree destitute of feathers, and haying the nostrils 
placed in a groove running along the sides of the upper 
mandible, with their aperture so small as scarcely to be 
distinguished; and also, having a more or less dilated gul- 
let, and a very small tongue. Under this definition were in- 
cluded the Pelicans proper, the cormorants, gannets, &c. 
The observations of more recent naturalists, however, have 
shown the necessity of separating these birds into several 
distinct genera, restricting that of Pelecanus to such as 
are possessed of the following characteristics: “Bill very 
long, broad, stout, straight, much depressed; upper man- 
dible convex at base, then plane, seamed on each side, 
ridge distinct, ending in a compressed, robust, and strongly 
hooked nail; lower broader, formed of two flexible cartila- 
ginous branches united at tip, supporting a naked mem- 
brane, capable of forming by distention a pouch of great 
size, extending beyond the throat; edges of the upper man- 
dible, plane internally, separated from the palate by two 
longitudinal, approximated, sharp processes; palate cari- 
nated, lower edges sharp; nostrils in the furrow, basal, 
linear, longitudinal, hardly distinguishable; tongue cartila- 
ginous, very small, obtuse and arcuated at tip- Head mo- 
derate, face and cheeks naked ; eyes rather large ; neck 
long, stoutish; body massive. Feet nearly central, short, 
robust; tibia naked below; tarsi shorter than the second 
toe, stout, naked; middle toe longest, one third longer than 
the outer; hind toe shortest? hardly half as long as the 
middle one; connecting membrane broad, full, entire; 
nails falculate; the middle one with its edges entire, or 
pectinated. Wings moderate, ample ; second primary 
longest ; secondaries reaching to the primaries. Tail 
rounded of twenty feathers.”* 
The female is very similar in appearance to the male, 
* C. L. Bonaparte. Synop. Birds of the U. S. 
but the young differs greatly for a long time. They moult 
annually, and have a short, thick, and close plumage. 
The most remarkable peculiarity of these birds, is the 
bag or pouch attached to the lower mandible. This bag, 
when empty, the bird has the power of contracting into a 
very small compass, and of wrinkling it up until it scarcely 
hangs below the bill, though when fully extended, it is of 
an enormous size; it may be considered as its crop, as it 
serves all the purposes of that receptacle, and from being 
placed at the commencement, instead of the termination of 
the gullet, it enables them to retain food in it for a consider- 
able time, without becoming altered. When in pursuit of 
prey, the Pelican stows its spoils in this pouch, and when 
it is full, retires to the shore to devour the fruits of its in- 
dustry at leisure. In this manner also, the female carries 
food for her young, and when disgorging it, presses the 
bottom of the sac upon her breast, and thus discharges its 
contents. This mode of procedure has, in all probability, 
given rise to the poetic fable of her opening her breast, and** 
feeding her young on her own blood. 
And like the kind life rendering Pelican, 
Refresh them with my blood.* 
Except this opinion of the ancients was founded on the 
circumstance we have alluded to, we cannot comprehend 
how they could have attributed to this stupid bird, the admi- 
rable qualities and maternal affections for which it was cele- 
brated among them. When the membrane of which this 
pouch is composed is carefully prepared, it becomes as soft 
as silk, and is sometimes embroidered for work bags or 
purses. It is also used for tobacco pouches and shot bags, 
and among the negroes in the West Indies, it is thought 
that slippers formed from it are an infallible remedy against 
the gout; as well as convulsions in children. 
These birds are said to be torpid and inactive to the last 
degree, so that nothing can exceed their indolence but their 
gluttony, and the powerful stimulus of hunger is necessary 
to excite them to exertion. They however, fly well, and 
can remain on the wing for a long time, hovering over the 
surface of the sea at a considerable height, until they per- 
ceive a fish near the surface, when they dart down with 
great swiftness, and seldom fail in seizing it. They all 
swim with equal celerity, and dive with adroitness. It is 
also said by some authors,! that these birds unite in flocks 
for the purpose of taking their prey, forming a circle, 
and swimming towards its centre. When they have con- 
tracted the space sufficiently, at a certain signal they all 
strike the water with their wings, thus frightening the fish 
to such a degree, that they fall an easy prey to their insa- 
tiable pursuers. These manoeuvres take place during the 
* Hamlet. Act 4. Sc. 5. f Descourtilz Voyages, d’un naturaliste, t.ii. p.241. 
