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Show 1869.] MR. D. G. ELLIOT ON THE GENUS PELECANUS. 583 type of one of the two groups which the Pelicans seem naturally to comprise-that one in which the feathers of the forehead form a concave line upon the culmen. It is easily distinguished in the mature state from all the other species by the thick mass of recurving feathers upon the head (which are loose and fall over on each side, producing a conspicuous crest), by the lanceolate feathers of the breast, and by its comparatively shorter tarsus. The present species being comparatively recently known, having been described by Bruch, in ' Isis,' in 1832, its synonymy is not in any way confused -quite a relief among this family of birds, so many of which have their synonyms so sadly involved that it seems to be almost a hopeless task to restore them all to their proper places. This species, according to Baron Feldegg, arrives in Dalmatia in the spring and autumn, and prefers the river Naranta, near Fort Opers, where it is bordered with morasses. Count v. d. Miihle,' Orn. Griech.' p. 132, as quoted in Bree's 'Birds of Europe,' says "it is very plentiful in Greece the whole year through; and on many lakes and swamps, such as Zigeri, Kopai, and Paralynni, are broad colonies of them. They are also very plentiful on the lakes of Alissolonghi and Thermopylae. In places incredibly difficult to reach, where floating islands are found, they place their nests very thickly together, supported among the reeds and rushes, and generally soaked with wet. The whole neighbourhood of these congregated nests is covered with their dull white dung and a multitude of foul fish which they have dropped about, and which make the spot horribly offensive. The yellow-grey young birds have a very unsightly appearance, and these never-satisfied screamers, with their shrill shrieking voice, and the unformed head hanging on the crop, make an unsightly picture." PELECANUS RUFESCENS. Red-backed Pelican, Lath. Gen. Syn. vol. iii. pt. 2, p. 584. sp. 6 (1785). Pelecanus rufescens, Gmel, Syst. Nat. vol. i. (1788) p. 571. sp. 13; Reich. Syst. Av. pl. 38. fig. 386, & pl. 38. figs. 878 & 384, 385 (juv.) ; Riipp. Atl. t. 21, p. 31; id,. Reise im nordl. Afrika, Zool. p. 439; Licht. Abhandl. Akad. Wiss. Berl. (1838) t. 25. sp. 5, & tab. 3. fig. 3 ; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. vol. ii. p. 162 ; Bonnat. Ency. Meth. Ornith. (1790) p. 44; Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zool. xiii. p. 114; Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 884. sp. 6; Gray, Gen. of Birds, vol. iii. sp. 6; Sclat. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1868) p. 267, pl. 26 (juv.). P. cristatus, Less. Traite d'Ornith. p. 602 (1831). P. pheeospilus, Wagl. Isis (1832) p. 1233. P. roseus, Donnd. Zool. Beitr. vol. ii. pt. 1, p. 848. sp. 9 ; Bonnat. Ency. Method. Ornith. (1790) p. 43 ; Gmel. Syst. Nat. (1788) p. 570. sp. 9. P. philippensis, Jerd. B. of Ind. iii, p. 858 (juv.) ; Gmel. Syst. Nat. (1788) vol. i. p. 571. sp. 11; Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 883. sp. 5 (1790) ; Gray, Gen. of Birds, vol. iii. sp. 2 (1849) |
