FAMILY XLI. PELECANINÆ. PELICANS
Bill longer than the head, rather slender, straight, upper mandible with the ridge separated from the side by a groove, and terminated by a narrow, generally decurved, pointed unguis; lower mandible with the crura elastic and extensile, the angle very long and narrow. Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, small, or obsolete. Space around and before the eye generally bare, as is a portion of the gular sac. Head generally of moderate size, but various; neck long; body elongated, rather slender. Feet short and stout; tibia bare at its lower part; tarsus short, very stout, compressed, scaly or scutellate in front; toes four, all connected by webs, and scutellate; first small, fourth longest. Claws short, strong, curved, rather blunt, that of the third toe generally pectinate. Plumage soft, blended, on the back compact and imbricated. Wings long; tail of moderate length, narrow, rounded or tapering. Tongue extremely small, triangular, fleshy; œsophagus excessively wide; a gular sac, sometimes of enormous capacity; proventricular belt generally discontinuous; stomach very small, slightly muscular, epithelium smooth; a globular pyloric lobe; intestine very long and slender; cœca small, cylindrical; cloaca globular. Trachea simple, flattened; no inferior laryngeal muscles.
GENUS I. PHALACROCORAX, Briss. CORMORANT
Bill about the length of the head, rather slender, nearly straight, compressed toward the end; upper mandible with the dorsal line concave, until on the unguis, where it is decurved, the ridge convex, flattened toward the end, separated from the sides by a narrow groove, the sides convex, the edge sharp and nearly straight as far as the unguis, which is decurved, convex above, acute, its tip ascending far beyond that of the lower; lower mandible with the angle long and very narrow towards the end, filled up by an extensile membrane, which extends to the level of the angle of the mouth; the outline of the crura very slightly convex, that of the terminal part descending and very slightly convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip compressed, with its marginal outline decurved. Nostrils obliterated (in youth open). Head rather small, oblong; neck long and rather thick; body full, elongated, depressed. Feet short, stout, placed far behind; tibia feathered in its whole length; tarsus very short, strong, much depressed, covered all round with angular scales; a series on part of the inner side anteriorly, and another on the lower part of the outer, scutelliform. Toes all placed in the same plane, connected by webs, and covered above by very numerous oblique scutella; first the smallest, fourth the longest. Claws rather small, strong, compressed, acute, convex above, arched, that of the third toe pectinated on its inner edge. Plumage soft, generally blended, compact on the back and wings; the small gular sac, and the space before and beneath the eye, with the eyelids, bare. Wings of moderate size, broad; primaries curved, pointed, the second longest. Tail of moderate length, very narrow, much rounded, of twelve or more narrow strong-shafted feathers. Gular sac small; tongue extremely small; œsophagus very wide; proventricular glands disposed in two large roundish masses; stomach small, slightly muscular, inner coat smooth and soft; a globular or triangular pyloric lobe; duodenum at first curving upwards; intestine very long, and of moderate width; cœca small; rectum narrow; cloaca globular. Trachea considerably flattened; bronchi of moderate width.
416. 1. Phalacrocorax Carbo, Linn. Great Cormorant
Plate CCLXVI. Male, Female, and Young.
Tail of fourteen feathers. In summer, a small longitudinal occipital black crest, and numerous linear elongated white feathers on the head and upper part of neck; bill dusky, with the lower mandible whitish toward the base; gular sac yellow; plumage black, glossed with deep greenish-blue; at the base of the gular sac a broad gorgelet of white; a patch of white on the side over the thigh; feathers of wings and part of the back dull bluish-grey, glossed with bronze, their fringe-like margins greenish-black; primary quills greyish-black, secondary like the other wing-feathers; tail greyish-black; shafts of all the feathers black at the end, leaden-grey towards the base. Female similar. After the breeding season the white feathers on the head and sides fall off. Young, before being fledged, with the skin dull livid, the bill dusky, at the base flesh-coloured, the feet purplish-dusky, the webs yellowish-brown.
Male
, 37, 62.
Ranges during winter southward to New York. Abundant from Massachusetts eastward. Breeds on high precipitous rocks, in Newfoundland, Labrador, and Baffin's Bay. Migratory.
Phalacrocorax Carbo, Bonap. Syn. p. 402.
Cormorant, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 479.
Common Cormorant. Phalacrocorax Carbo, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 458.
417. 2. Phalacrocorax dilophus, Swains. Double-crested Cormorant
Plate CCLVII. Male.
Tail of twelve feathers. In summer an elongated tuft of about forty long, slender, loose, recurved feathers, from behind the eye to the length of an inch and a half on each side; upper mandible dusky, along the edges greenish-yellow, lower yellow, irregularly marked with dusky toward the edges; bare space on the head, and gular sac rich orange; plumage greenish-black, strongly glossed with green; imbricated feathers on the back and wings greyish-brown, their fringe-like margins greenish-black; primary quills brownish-black, secondary like the other wing-feathers; tail black; the shafts of all the feathers black. Female similar to the male. After the breeding season the tufts disappear. Young after the first moult have the head and neck mottled with greenish-black and greyish-brown, the other parts as in the adult, but the tufts on the head wanting.
Male
, 33, 51.
Common as far south as the coast of Maryland, in winter. Breeds in Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as on the Saskatchewan.
Pelecanus (Carbo) dilophus, Double-crested Cormorant, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 473.
Double-crested Cormorant, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 483.
Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax dilophus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 420; v. v. p. 629.
418. 3. Phalacrocorax Floridanus, Aud. Florida Cormorant
Plate CCLI. Male.
Tail of twelve feathers. In summer an elongated series of about forty linear feathers directed backwards, commencing behind the eye, and extending to the length of an inch and a half on each side; upper mandible black, along the basal margin bright blue, lower bright blue, spotted with white; bare space on the head and gular sac rich orange; plumage greenish-black, strongly glossed with green; imbricated feathers on the back and wings greyish-brown, tinged with purple, their fringe-like margins greenish-black; primary quills brownish-black, secondary like the other feathers of the wing; tail brownish-black; shafts of all the feathers brownish-black. Female similar to the male. After the breeding season the tufts disappear. Young after the first moult with the bill dull yellow, the ridge of the upper mandible dusky, naked parts of the head rich yellow; upper part of the head and neck brownish-black, tinged with green, throat grayish-white; fore neck and anterior part of breast variegated with pale brownish-grey and black; the rest of the plumage as in the adult, but the imbricated feathers of the upper parts lighter. This species differs from the last, chiefly in being smaller, and in having the elongated feathers behind the eye more slender and directed backwards instead of being recurved.
Male
, 291/4, 461/2.
Constantly resident in the Floridas and their Keys, and along the coast to Texas. The young in summer pass up the Mississippi and Ohio, returning in autumn to the sea. Abundant. Breeds on trees only.
Phalacrocorax Floridanus, Florida Cormorant, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 387; v. v. p. 632.
419. 4. Phalacrocorax Townsendi, Aud. Townsend's Cormorant
Plate CCCCXII. Fig. 2. Male.
Tail of twelve feathers; plumage of the neck and sides interspersed with linear white feathers: bill yellow, with the ridge brown; gular sac and bare skin on the head bright orange; upper part of head and hind neck dusky, tinged with green; hind part of back greenish-black; the rest of the upper parts brownish-grey, each feather edged with black; quills brownish-grey, similarly edged with black; outer primaries and tail-feathers black; sides of the head, fore part of neck, and breast light yellowish-brown; the middle of the neck in front darker, the sides, abdomen, and tibial feathers shaded into brownish-black, tinged with green. This description from a single individual shot on the 8th of October. Another individual, apparently a bird in its first plumage, has the head and upper part of the fore neck darker, the middle of the breast lighter, the feathers on the back margined with greyish-brown, and an inner band of dark brown; its bill is longer, but more slender, the unguis less curved, the feathers not entirely obliterated from the space before the eye, and extending farther on the gular sac.
Male
, 35, wing 121/2; tail 63/4.
Cape Disappointment, Columbia River. Common.
Phalacrocorax Townsendi, Townsend's Cormorant, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 149.
420. 5. Phalacrocorax resplendens, Aud. Violet-green Cormorant
Plate CCCCXXII. Fig. 1. Female.
Bill scarcely as long as the head, slender, dusky; tail of twelve feathers; gular sac and bare skin on the head, bright orange; plumage silky and splendent, deep green, seeming black in some lights and bright green and purple in others, the somewhat compact feathers of the back edged with dark purple; along the sides of the neck and the hind part of the sides of the body, numerous white piliform feathers terminated by a pencil of filaments; quills and tail-feathers brownish-black and less glossy. This description from an individual shot in October.
Female
, 27; wing 10; tail 51/2.
Cape Disappointment, near Columbia River. Abundant.
Violet-green Cormorant, Phalacrocorax resplendens, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 148.
GENUS II. PLOTUS, Linn. ANHINGA
Bill about twice the length of the head, almost straight, being very slightly recurved, rather slender, compressed, tapering to a fine point; upper mandible with the dorsal line slightly declinate, very slightly convex, the ridge convex, gradually narrowed, the sides sloping, the edges sharp, and beyond the middle cut into minute slender-pointed serratures directed backwards, the tip acuminate; lower mandible with the angle very long and narrow, the dorsal line beyond it straight and ascending, the sides sloping slightly outwards, the edges sharp and serrated, the point extremely narrow; gape-line ascending towards the end. No external nostrils in the adult. Head very small, oblong; neck very long and slender; body elongated and slender. Feet very short and stout; tibia feathered to the point; tarsus very short, roundish, reticulated; toes all connected by webs, the first of moderate length, the fourth longest, the first toe and the first phalanges of the rest with transverse series of scales; the rest of their extent scutellate. Claws rather large, very strong, compressed, curved, very acute, the third with parallel slits on the inner edge. A bare space at the base of the upper mandible, including the eye; skin of the throat bare and dilated, as in the Cormorants. Plumage close, blended, silky, the feathers oblong; scapulars elongated, lanceolate, compact, the outer web of the largest undulated. Wings of moderate length and breadth; third quill longest, inner secondaries elongated and resembling the posterior scapulars. Tail very long, narrow, of twelve straight feathers, having very strong shafts, and increasing in breadth to the end. Tongue a slight oblong knob; œsophagus very wide; proventricular glands placed on the right side in the form of a globular sac; stomach roundish, of moderate size, rather thin, with its inner coat soft and smooth; a large roundish pyloric lobe; intestine long and very slender; no cœca, but a small rounded termination to the rectum.
421. 1. Plotus anhinga, Linn. American Anhinga. – Snake-Bird
Plate CCCXVI. Male and Female.
Upper mandible dusky, lower bright yellow; gular sac orange; tarsus and toes dusky olive, the hind parts and webs yellow; general colour of head, neck, and body, glossy blackish-green, of the scapulars, wings, and tail, glossy bluish-black; long loose feathers on the neck purplish-white; lower part of neck behind marked with very numerous minute oblong spots of white, forming two broad bands, extending backwards, and gradually becoming more elongated, there being one along the centre of each feather, including the scapulars; smaller wing-coverts similarly marked with broader white spots disposed in regular rows; first row of small coverts and secondary coverts white, excepting a portion of the inner web; five elongated secondaries marked with a narrow white band; occupying the inner half of the outer web; tail-feathers tipped with a band of brownish-red fading into white. Female with only a few inconspicuous elongated feathers on the neck; upper part of head and hind neck dull greenish-brown, lighter on the lower part; fore part of neck pale reddish-brown, tinged with grey, lighter on the throat, that colour extending over part of the breast, and terminating abruptly in a transverse band of deep reddish-chestnut; the other parts as in the male, only the fore part of the back is tinged with brown, and its spots are less distinct.
Male
, 353/4, 44.
Female
, 34, 43.
Constant resident from Florida to Georgia; in summer as far east as North Carolina, and up the Mississippi to Natchez. Common.
Plotus Anhinga, Bonap. Syn. p. 411.
Black-bellied Darter, Plotus melanogaster, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. ix. p. 75.
Black-bellied Darter, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 507.
Anhinga or Snake-Bird, Plotus Anhinga, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 136.
GENUS III. TACHYPETES, Vieill. FRIGATE BIRD
Bill longer than the head, strong, broader than high, unless towards the curved extremity; upper mandible with its dorsal line slightly concave, at the tip decurved, its ridge broad and nearly flat at the base, narrowed and more convex towards the end, the sides separated from the ridge by a narrow groove, convex, the edges sharp, direct, irregularly jagged, with a prominence at the commencement of the curve at the elongated, compressed, tapering, decurved point; lower mandible with the angle extremely long, narrow, the membrane bare and dilatable into a small pouch, the very short dorsal line decurved, the sides erect at the base, convex in the rest of their extent, the edges sharp, much inflected, irregularly jagged, at the tip narrow and decurved. Nostrils basal, linear, inconspicuous. Head of moderate size, oblong; neck of moderate length, stout; body rather slender. Feet very short, stout; tibia very short; tarsus extremely short, feathered; toes all placed in the same plane, and connected by short deeply emarginate webs, which run out narrow along the sides, scutellate above, first small, second shorter than fourth, third much longer. Claws strong, compressed, curved, acute, that of the third toe long, with the inner edge pectinate. Plumage compact, glossy; feathers of the head, neck, and back lanceolate. Wings extremely long, pointed, the first quill longest; the rest rapidly diminishing; secondaries very short, the inner long and tapering. Tail very long, deeply forked, of twelve feathers. Tongue exceedingly small, fleshy, flattened; œsophagus very wide; proventricular glands forming a complete belt; stomach very small, roundish, its muscular coat thin, the inner soft and corrugated; no pyloric lobe; intestine of moderate length; cœca extremely small; cloaca globular.
422. 1. Tachypetes Aquilus, Linn. Frigate-Bird. – Man-of-war Bird
Plate CCLXXI. Male.
Male with the bill light purplish-blue, white in the middle, the gular sac orange; bare skin around the eye blue; feet light carmine above, orange beneath; general colour of plumage brownish-black, the head, neck, back, breast, and sides, splendent with green and purple, the former predominating on the head, the latter on the back; wings tinged with green; inner secondaries and tail with brown, the shafts of the former black, of the latter brown. Female with a broad white space on the breast, that colour extending forwards along the sides of the neck, and encircling it about the middle; feathers of the back less elongated, and glossy; the dark parts more tinged with brown. Young at first covered with yellowish soft down.
Adult
, 41, 86.
Resides constantly on and about the Florida Keys, where it breeds in vast numbers on trees. Ranges over the Gulf of Mexico, Bays of Texas, but rarely seen to the eastward of North Carolina.
Tachypetes Aquilus, Bonap. Syn. p. 406.
Frigate Pelican, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 491.
Frigate Pelican. Tachypetes Aquilis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 495; v. v. p. 684.
GENUS IV. PELECANUS, Linn. PELICAN
Bill about thrice the length of the head, rather slender, almost straight, depressed; upper mandible linear, depressed, convex at the base, gradually flattened, and a little enlarged to near the end, when it narrows, and terminates in a hooked point; ridge broad and convex at the base, gradually narrowed and flattened beyond the middle, separated by a groove from the sides, erect at the base, sloping toward the edges, edges very acute, with an internal groove; lower mandible with the angle excessively long, extending to the unguis, the sides erect and convex, the edges thin and involute, the tip decurved. Nostrils basal, lateral, linear, concealed by the wrinkles of the skin. Head small, oblong; neck long, stout; body full, rather flattened. Feet short, and very stout; tarsus short, compressed, covered all round with hexagonal scales; toes in the same plane, all connected by webs, first shortest, fourth longer than third. Claws short, strong, curved, that of the third toe pectinate. Feathers of head and neck exceedingly small, slender, downy; of the other parts generally lanceolate and acuminate; wings very long, rather narrow, rounded; primaries much curved. Tail short, broad, rounded, of more than sixteen feathers. An enormous bare, extensile, gular sac; tongue extremely small, papilliform; œsophagus excessively wide; proventricular glands arranged in broad longitudinal series; stomach very small, with its muscular coat thin, its epithelium smooth and soft; a globular pyloric lobe; intestine long and narrow; cœca very small, cylindrical; cloaca globular.
423. 1. Pelecanus Americanus, Aud. American White Pelican
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