222 
NATURAL HISTORY 
therefore, we shall put the most remarkable of each at 
the beginning of their respective tribes, and the nriQre or- 
dinary sorts will naturally follow. We must, however, 
previously give the history of the above bird, which from 
the singularity of its conformation, seems allied to no 
particular species. 
The pelican of Africa resembles the swan in shape and 
colour, but far exceeds it in size. The singularity, how- 
ever, which distinguishes it from all other birds, is in the 
bill and the great pouch underneath, which merit a par- 
ticular description. 
The bill of this bird is fifteen inches long, from the 
point to the opening of the mouth, which is a good way 
behind the eyes. It is very thick at the base, where it 
is of a greenish tint, but tapers off toward the end, which 
curves downward, and is of a reddish blue. At the 
lower edge of the under chap hangs a pouch, capable of 
containing fifteen quarts of water, and reaching the whole 
length of the bill to the neck: this bag is covered with a 
very soft and smooth down, and, when empty, is scarcely 
perceptible, as the bird has the power of wrinkling it up 
into the lower jaw. This bird was formerly known in 
Europe, particularly in Russia; but at present it is only 
found in Africa and America. 
The pelican has strong wings furnished with thick pla- 
mage of an ash colour, as are the rest of the feathers 
over the w T hole body. The eyes are very small, when 
compared with the size of the head, and there is some- 
thing in the countenance very sad and melancholy. 
These birds are torpid and inactive to the last degree, 
so that nothing can exceed their indolence but their glut- 
tony; for were they not excited to labour by the stimula- 
tions of hunger, they would always continue in fixed re- 
pose. When they have raised themselves about thirty 
or forty feet above the surface of the sea, they turn their 
head with one eye downward, and continue to fly in that 
posture. As soon as they perceive a fish sufficiently near 
the surface, they dart down with the swiftness of an ar- 
row, seize it with unerring certainty, and store it up in 
their pouch: they then rise again, and continue hovering 
