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Show 590 MR. D. G. ELLIOT ON THE GENUS PELECANUS. [Nov. 25, portion of the United States, and has been met with in the fur-countries up to the 61st parallel. On the southern coast of the United States they are very abundant; and I have witnessed them in winter on the sea-beach at Florida, standing close together in long rows of many hundreds of individuals, enjoying a siesta after fishing. This species does not plunge into the water after its prey, as is the custom of its relative the P. fuscus, but swims along, beating the surface of the water with its wings, and scooping up great numbers of fish at once. When raising the bill from the water, the point is held downwards until all the water has been al lowed to run out from the sac, and then the small fish contained in the skinny bag are devoured at leisure. Sometimes so many fish or such large ones are obtained that the sac hangs down nearly to the ground, it is so very elastic; while at other times, when empty, it is drawn up between the crura of the lower mandible. When flying, these birds proceed in single file, flapping their wings two or three times iu succession, and then sailing along for some distance, when the flappings are repeated. It is a very agreeable sight to witness them proceed in this manner along the surf, just clearing the waves as they roll and toss beneath them, and at times disappearing in the trough of the sea, to rise again over the crest of some mighty breaker. When on the wing, the head is drawn in close to the shoulders, the webbed feet extended behind. I have never heard them utter any sound as they thus proceeded. The synonymy of this species does not involve any particularly doubtful point; several of the old authors, such as Pennant, and indeed some of the latter ones, as Swainson and Nuttall, confound it with the European bird. The name erythrorhynchus given to it by Gmelin, although perhaps unfortunate, since tbe bill is not red, yet has priority over Latham's more appropriate one of trachyrhynchus, and, consequently, must stand as the name for the species. The efforts made by some later writers to substitute Latham's name for that of Gmelin's cannot be countenanced ; for it is contrary to the laws of priority, which is professed to be accepted as influencing the nomenclature of science ; and if, simply because a name may be inappropriate, it is to give way to some other, then indeed a fine field is open for some one desirous of acquiring distinction in this line, as numerous names now accepted in ornithology could very properly be superseded by others. PELECANUS CONSPICILLATUS. Pelecanus conspicillatus, Temm. Pl. Col. 276 ; Gould, B. of Austr. vol. vii. pl. 74 ; Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. vol. ii. (1857) p. 161 ; Reichen. Syst. Av. vol. i. pl. 37. figs. 380, 381, and pl. 37 b. figs. 2318 & 2329 ; Schleg. Mus. Pays-Bas, p. 36, 4 m e livraison ; Less. Traite d'Ornith. p. 602. sp. 3. Catoptropelicanus conspicillatus, Reichenb. Pelec:anus australis, Steph. Shaw, Gen. Zool. vol. xiii. (1825) p. 113. Ne-rim-ba and Boodee-lung, aborigines of Australia. |
