502 'PELEC 
its difconcerted plumage. Obferving it fo perfeftly re¬ 
conciled to its new abode, and having retired to the li¬ 
brary, leaving both doors open, with intention of return¬ 
ing, we were aftoniflied, in a few minutes, to fee the 
ftranger walk boldly into the room, and, coming towards 
us with the greateft confidence and familiarity, joined us 
at the fire-fide, where it re-aflumed the talk of pluming 
and drefling its feathers. From hence we removed this 
bird to an aquatic menagerie, to which it was carried 
without offering the lead offenfive refinance; but the 
fight of water made it reftlefs ; and, when liberated, it 
inftantly plunged in and dived incefl'antly for a confider- 
able time, in hopes of prey; but, after fearching every 
part of the pond, without obtaining a fingle filh, it ap¬ 
peared to be convinced there was none, and never made 
any other attempt for three days, during the whole of 
which time, it was crammed with flefli, not being able 
to procure any fill). It lives in perfeft harmony with a 
whittling fwan, a bernacle goofe, various forts of ducks, 
and other occafional birds; but, if it perceives a gull 
with a piece of filh, it inftantly gives chace: if, however, 
the gull has time to fwallow it, no refentment is ottered : 
the fight of it created the defire of pofleftion, and that 
defire ceafes with its difappearance. If it gets out, it 
never attempts to ramble; but, walking direct to the 
lioufe, enters the firft open door without deference to any 
one, regardlefs even of a dog ; and in fadft is troublefome- 
ly tame.” 
14. Pelecanus graculus, the (hag: tail rounded ; body 
black, brown beneath ; tail-feathers twelve. Weighs 
about four pounds ; length twenty-nine inches. The 
female weighs about three pounds and a quarter, and is 
only twenty-feven inches long. The heavinefs or rather 
indolence natural to all the cormorants, is ftill more re¬ 
markable in the prefent. This fpecies is not lefs diffufed 
than the former: it occurs particularly in the illands 
and the extremities of the fouthern continents. Cook 
and Forfter found it on the ifland of Georgia; which, 
though not inhabited, and almoft inacceffible by man, is 
flocked with thefe little cormorants, which fhare the do¬ 
main with the penguins, and lodge among the tufts of 
rufhy grafs, the only vegetable production in that weary 
tradf. Staten-land is fimilar, and contains likewife great 
numbers of thefe birds. An ifland in the Straits of Ma¬ 
gellan was fo full of them, that captain Cook called it 
Shag Ifland. It is in thefe extremities of the globe that 
nature, benumbed with cold, has allowed five or fix fpe¬ 
cies ftill to fubfift, the laft inhabitants of the territories 
invaded by the progrefs of refrigeration ; they live in 
calm apathy amiaft the dead filence which has there efta- 
blifhed its gloomy reign. “ One is aftonifhed,” fays cap¬ 
tain Cook, “ at the peace which prevails in this land. 
The animals that inhabit it would feem to have formed 
a league not to dillurb their mutual tranquillity. The 
fea-lions occupy the greateft part of the coatt ; the white 
bear refides in the interior part of the ifland ; and the 
fhags lodge in the loftieft rocks: the penguins fettle 
where they have eafieft communication with the fea ; and 
the other birds choofe places more retired. We have 
feen all thefe animals intermingled and walking together, 
like cattle or poultry in a farm-yard, without offering 
the lead injury to each other.” In thefe dreary waftes, 
naked, and almoft frozen, the flings breed in the ragged 
fides of rocks, or the projecting cliffs that overhang the 
ocean. In fome parts, their nefts are found among fmall 
patches of flags, or in the tall tufts of the coarfe grafs 
which we have mentioned. There they inhabit, collected 
in thoufands: the report of a mufket does not difperfe 
them ; they only rife a few feet, and alight again into 
their nefts. Nor need we ufe fire-arms, for they may be 
felled with flicks, and yet their companions will not be 
alarmed, or endeavour to efcape from the maflacre. 
Their flefii, efpecially that of the young ones, is pretty 
good food. Thefe birds do not ftray far into the fea, and 
feldom lofe fight of land. Like the penguins, they are 
clothed with a very thick plumage, well adapted to guard 
ANUS. 
a gain ft the fevere and continual cold of the frozen re¬ 
gions which they inhabit. 
The fhags are very numerous on the coafts of Cornwall, 
and in the Irifli fea, particularly on the Ifle of Man. 
They are found alfo on the (bores of Pruffia, and in Hol¬ 
land near Sevenhuis, where they breed on tall trees. 
Willoughby fays, that they fwina with their body entirely 
immerfed, and only their head out of the water; and 
that they are as nimble and alert in that element as they 
are fluggifli on land, and efcape the Ihot by diving the 
inftant they perceive the flafh. In general, the (hag has 
the fame natural habits with thofe of the cormorant, which 
it refembles in its figure and in its colours : the difference 
confifts in this, that its body and limbs are fmaller and 
more (lender, its plumage brown under the body, its 
throat not naked, and that there are only twelve quills 
in the tail. Some ornithologifts have ftyled the (hag the 
palmiped jay : but this is as little proper as the appella¬ 
tion of water-raven given to the cormorant. The cor¬ 
nea of the eye is of a bright red, and the cryftalline ap¬ 
proaches the fpherical form, as in fi(h: the bafe of the bill 
is furniflied with a red (kin, which alfo furrounds the 
eye: the aperture of the noftrils is fo narrow a (lit as to 
have efcaped obfervers, who have aflerted, that the cor¬ 
morants, both the greater and the lefs, want the noftrils: 
the greateft toe in thefe two fpecies is the outer, compofed 
of five phalanges, the next one containing three, the 
third three, and the laft, which is the (horteft, only two : 
the feet are of a (hining black, and armed with pointed 
nails: under the feathers there is a very fine down, as 
thick as that of the fwan ; and fmall filky feathers, clofe 
like velvet, cover the head. 
There are two other varieties of this fpecies. In the 
firft, the chin is yellow, and the tail wedged : it is found 
in the Cape of Good Hope. The fecond is blackifh, but 
underneath it is brown ; the feathers above are edged 
with black: inhabits Cayenne, and the Caribbee iflands; 
anil is about twenty-fix inches long. 
15. Pelecanus pygmseus, the dwarf (hag: tail w'edged, 
the feathers twelve in number. This fpecies is fcarcely 
fo big as a teal. The bill, legs, and (h3pe, exactly corres¬ 
ponding with thofe of the common (hag. The body 
black, with a call of green about the neck and bread;: 
wing-coverts obfcure-brown, each feather margined with 
glofty black: about the eyes dotted with white, but the 
lpots not very numerous; on the neck, breaft, and fides, 
are alfo a few fcattered (pots, which arife from pencils of 
very tender hairs of that colour, which are intermixed, 
and appear here and there among the feathers. The fe¬ 
male is wdiolly brown, or a dull black, and not fpotted. 
This fpecies is met with about the Cafpian fea, among 
others of the genus ; alfo on the river Jaick. 
( 3 . This variety has the chin of a moufe-colour; wing- 
coverts and legs black ; head and neck chefnut, with a 
few fnowy fpots; belly hoary, fpotted with brown. 
16. Pelecanus punttatus, the punffated (hag: crefted, 
black ; tail rounded ; wings dark-afh, fpotted with black ; 
fides of the neck with a white line. Bill lead-colour ; 
orbits naked, reddifli; feathers on the middle of the back 
and wings with a black fpot; body above greenifli-black ; 
varies in having the bill and legs yellow. Inhabits New 
Zealand ; nearly two feet long. 
17. Pelecanus criftatus, the crefted (hag : (hining green, 
beneath dufky; bill and legs du(ky; head crefted. 
Length two feet three inches ; breadth three feet fix ; 
bill four inches long ; irides fine green. On each fide of 
the head a long tuft of dufky feathers reaching beyond 
the crown, forming a fine creft ; the tail of a dulky green, 
confiding of twelve feathers. This inhabits Great Bri¬ 
tain, and the vaft precipices about Holyhead and the back 
of the Ifle of Wight, in May and June; alfo Norway, 
Iceland, and Greenland, but in the latter not very com¬ 
mon. Mr, Pennant obferves, that he met with feveral 
(hags in the Hebrides, but faw none with the creft; hence 
we may fuppofe it to be fomewhat rare. 
18. Pelecanus violaceus, the violet (hag : creft eretfl ; 
body 
