Reptiles and Birds: A Popular Account of Their Various Orders, With a Description of the Habits and Economy of the Most InterestingFiguier, Louis
Science
Reptiles and Birds: A Popular Account of Their Various Orders, With a Description of the Habits and Economy of the Most Interesting
Figuier, Louis
Birds; Reptiles
"Advancing a little, we find that many still remain on the rocks; of
these we shoot some more. Presently some of those which had escaped
return, and perch; and we continue shooting until we have obtained as
many as we desire. After all the uproar we have created, several still
remain standing near their nests, loath to quit them. Although most of
the nests are out of reach, some are accessible. We find them generally
bulky, sometimes very scanty, formed of fuci, twigs, heath, and grass
rudely put together, made flat, or with a shallow cavity, containing
two, frequently three, sometimes four eggs, never more."
This bird has black plumage, as we have seen, is smaller than the one
preceding, and inhabits the Arctic and Antarctic regions. A bird nearly
resembling this (_Phalacrocorax Desmarestii_) is described by Temminck
and figured by Gould, a species which has been observed in Corsica, and
is of a blackish green. Montagu satisfied himself that the Crested
Cormorant was only a seasonal variety of the Common Cormorant; and
probably others of the species described, if carefully examined, would
prove to be the same. McGillivray is of opinion, however, if Mr. Gould's
figure is correct, the species must be distinct.
PELICANIDÆ.
A comprehensive group of aquatic birds presenting a uniformity of
structure quite apparent in the skeleton, and especially in the
digestive organs, of which the Pelican is the type. They are mostly
birds of large size, but of slender, elongated body, long neck, and head
generally of moderate size. The bill is long, sometimes slender, at
other times rather stout and straight; the upper mandible with the ridge
separated by grooves, and terminated in a narrow, decurved, and pointed
nail, or claw; the lower mandible elastic and extensible. The plumage is
soft and blending, on the back and wings compact and imbricated; wings
long, tail of moderate length and narrow.
The habits of the group vary considerably. Cormorants pursue their prey
much in the same manner as Mergansers and Loons; the Anhingas are
strictly territorial; the Pelicans combine the habits of both. The
Gannets fly about in quest of food, plunging upon it from on high. The
Frigate Birds range over the seas with unrivalled power of flight, and
the Tropic Birds resemble in progression the Terns. The family
comprises--
1. Pelicans.
2. Cormorants.
3. Gannets.
4. Phaetons.
5. Anhingas.
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