. Birds of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains; a manual for the identification of species in hand or in the bush . Man-o-War Bird FAMILY LII. PELICANS (PELECANIDtE) A small family (12 species) of very large, short-tailed birds,with very long, peculiarly pouched bills, the pouch being usedlike a dip net for catching its fishy food. Under the skin thereare great air sacs like those of the gannets. This makes thempeculiarly buoyant on the water, and gives them great grace ofmovement. In the air, also, their movements are easy andstrong, but not very rapid. They give a few flaps of the
. Birds of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains; a manual for the identification of species in hand or in the bush . Man-o-War Bird FAMILY LII. PELICANS (PELECANIDtE) A small family (12 species) of very large, short-tailed birds,with very long, peculiarly pouched bills, the pouch being usedlike a dip net for catching its fishy food. Under the skin thereare great air sacs like those of the gannets. This makes thempeculiarly buoyant on the water, and gives them great grace ofmovement. In the air, also, their movements are easy andstrong, but not very rapid. They give a few flaps of the wings,then sail a short distance, then again give a few flaps of thewings. They are usually in flocks, and it is interesting tosee the alternate flapping and sailing of the whole as thoughdirected by a leader. These birds nest in large colonies, andare found in all the warmer parts of the world. Some areexclusively marine, and some are found far from the coast, 308 KEY AyD DEl^CRIPTION. American White Felioan Key to the Species * Tarsus over 3^ ; plumage maiulj- .1. American White Pelican. * Tarsus under i\ ; plumage with much brown 2. Brown Pelican. 1. American WhitePelican (V2o. PelecdrIIKs erijthrorliynchos).— An exceedinglylarge, white, swim-iniug bird, with a verylong, pouched billand black 1/0ung is similar,but with some brown-ish-gray on the topof the head. In thebreeding season, thereis a peculiar crest onthe bill. This spe-cies procures its food mainly by swimming and dipping; thenext by darting from the airinto the water. This species isfound both along the coast andin the center of the continenta thousand miles from saltwater; the next is almost ex-clusively marine. Length, 60; wing, 22 (20-25) ;tail, G; tarsus, 4J; culmen, America, rare or accidental onthe Atlantic coast, common on thePacific; breeding from Minnesotanorthward far into the British pos-sessions, and wintering from theGulf coast to Central America. 2. Bro
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirdsunitedstates
