PELICAN GROUP 
(Pelicans, Boobies, Cormorants, Gannets, Snake-Birds, 
Tropic Birds and Man-o-War Birds) 
Unlike their relatives, the petrels and the penguins, many of the birds in 
this group inhabit not only the open oceans and sea coasts, but also rivers, 
lakes and swamps. In the order of their adaptability to inland rather than 
ocean life, the pelican takes first place among these birds, since the species 
is often found hundreds of miles in the interior. The cormorants, gannets, 
snake-birds and man-o-war birds follow. When one considers the flying 
ability of the birds of this group, it is surprising that they wander so little 
from the shores on which they breed. They are rarely seen on the open 
ocean. The booby is most often seen far from shore, but it too makes fre¬ 
quent excursions to land. 
In general appearance the birds of this group have marked dissimilari¬ 
ties. Their bills are either pouched as in the pelican, hooked as in the 
cormorant, or pointed as in the booby. Head and neck sizes also vary con¬ 
siderably. The backward position of the legs, the four-toed feet fully webbed, 
the long and pointed wings are features common to all of these birds. As is 
often the case in related animals that do not look alike, the similarities are 
most apparent in the embryonic and fledgling stages. The young man-o-war 
bird holds the tip of its bill against its breast in the typical pelican manner. 
This accounts for its other name, the “frigate-pelican.” The fledglings of 
the boobies and cormorants greatly resemble one another. 
The boobies and pelicans are equipped with shock-absorbers, pads of 
tissue under the skin, that adapt them for plunging into the water from 
great heights. In the matter of sex sizes we again find a lack of uniformity. 
The female booby and man-o-war bird are decidedly larger than the males, 
while in the American brown pelican the reverse is true. 
Pelicans: Brown Pelican. 
White Pelican. 
Gannets: White-bellied Booby. 
Cormorants: Brandt’s Cormorant. 
Flightless Cormorant. 
Man-o-War Bird. 
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Man-o-War Birds: 
