Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/247

 PELICAN PELIGNI 237 ing mostly in shallow places, as they swim along against wind and current with the wings partially extended and the upper mandible only of the bill appearing above the surface; they are sometimes seen in company with the brown species, next described ; occasion- ally they drive fish to shallows, where they can easily scoop them up with the pouch. They destroy a great number of small fish ; the flesh is rank and fishy, and unfit for food. The sac is expanded by the opening of the bill, and vice versa. They breed in the fur countries, but not generally in the south like the next species ; they are found in the Rocky moun- tains and in California. The brown pelican (P. fuscus, Linn. ; genus onocrotalm, Wagler) differs from the last species inhabits, size, and colors ; it is smaller, being only about 56 in. long, with an extent of wings of 7 ft. and a weight of 7 or 8 Ibs. The bill is 13 J in. long, grayish white, tinged with dusky and with spots of carmine ; there is no ridge on the up- per mandible ; the orbital space is blue, the crest light chestnut red, and the tail has only 22 feathers. The head and sides of the neck are white ; the hair-like feathers of the fore- head yellow ; the neck behind and in front be- low dark chestnut brown; back, wings, and tail grayish ash, margined with dusky, the last with shafts white at the base and black at the end; primaries brownish black; below dark brownish ash, with narrow longitudinal white lines on the sides; iris white; legs and feet Brown Pelican (Pelecanus fuscus). black. The female is like the male, but the feathers of the head are more rigid ; the young are dusky brown. It is found from North Carolina to Texas, and on the coast of Cali- fornia; it is a constant resident in Florida, and is now rare N". of St. Augustine ; it goes south far beyond the limits of the United States ; it is not seen on fresh water beyond the reach of the tide, like the white pelican. The flight, though apparently heavy, is well sustained, performed by alternate easy flap- pings and sailings, and in long undulating lines ; in calm weather they perform intricate aerial evolutions at a great height. They are always awake during the coming in of the tide, which is the favorable time for fishing ; they are never seen far from shore when a storm is threatening, and their appearance at sea is regarded by sailors as a sure sign of pleasant weather. They procure their food on the wing, plunging suddenly from a height of 15 to 25 ft., with the lower mandible wide open and the pouch extended, scooping up the fish and swallowing them at once. They do not carry fish or water to their young in the pouch, as had been generally believed, and ac- cording to Audubon this part is always con- tracted during flight. It is not uncommon to see these birds with a hole through the pouch caused by the spine of a fish, and their throats are occasionally reddened by the blood which has flowed from such a wound. They are fond of following porpoises, picking up their share of the terrified fish on which these cetaceans feed ; and in their turn they involuntarily pro- vide for the black-headed gull (chroicocephalus atricilla. Linn.), which watches their plunges, and as they emerge alights on their head or bill, seizing any small fry which may protrude beyond the bill or pouch ; the pelicans do not seem to notice the thefts or clamor of the gulls, and make no attempts to dislodge or drive them away. They are awkward walk- ers, but buoyant swimmers; when wounded they will bite severely ; they feed on fish gen- erally 2 or 3 in. long, rarely taking one as long as the bill ; they are powerful, but very sensi- tive to cold ; the flesh is tough and unfit for food, and the eggs are not much better ; the senses of sight and hearing are very acute; they are among the most silent of birds. They always keep in flocks of from 20 to 60, and begin to pair by the middle of April ; the nest is made of sticks, lined with leaves and grass- es, and placed high on a mangrove tree ; many nests are built in the same tree, and the trees are often near together; they breed in com- pany with the egrets, herons, and spoonbills, and on islands frequented also by white ibises and frigate pelicans; if not disturbed they use the same breeding places year after year. The eggs, three in number, 3 by 2 in., are thick-shelled and rough, white, more or less tinged with blood. The young are at first fed by regurgitation of the food of the parents, and so abundantly that the refuse fills the air with the most disgusting odor; they grow fast, and are very fat ; they are highly prized as food by the Indians and negroes, and are eagerly eaten by vultures. PELIGNI, an ancient people of central Italy, of Sabine origin, who occupied a very small territory between the Marrucini, the Marsi, Samnium, and the Frentani. They were re- nowned as warlike, like the Marsi reputed as magicians, and long warred against the Romans, but together with their neighbors concluded a