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D escription.
grey, -with the Ihafts and margins white 5 the outer greater ones,
and baftard wing, darker, almoft black: quills dulky black; the
bafe of many of the fecondaries white : tail compofed of eighteen
feathers, colour greyilh white; all but the two middle ones white
on the inner webs at the bafe; fhafts black : legs red.
This inhabits the Philippine IJlands, and is probably the bird
known there by the name of Alcatraz*. The natives fay that
the Ikin of the breaft, drafted with the feathers on, has a Tweet
fmell, and, being worn on the ftomach of any one afflicted
with the afthma, proves a remedy for the fame.
C I Z E of a large Swan : length five feet. Bill thirteen inches
^ long, formed as in other Pelicansand of a pale dirty yellow:
Ipace round the eyes, and pouch, the fame; the laft reaches eight
inches down the neck : the hind head is crefted, fome of the feathers
four inches in length : the head and neck dirty brownilh
white: the back of a fine pale reddilh cinnamon-colour: the
wing coverts like the neck, but darker : fcapulars pale greyilh
lead-colour: lefler quills not unlike the wing coverts, but the
ends dark grey and the Ihafts black: prime quills black : tail of
a deep grey, the Ihafts white at the bafe, and black towards the
ends: the belly, thighs, under wing coverts, and vent, like the
back, but much paler : the feathers of the breaft, wing coverts,
and lower part of the neck, are long, narrow, and pointed, efpe-
cially thofe of the breaft: the legs are yellow.
This bird was fent to me by Mr. Lewis, navy furgetm, who
informed me that he had it alive from the governor of one of
* Phil. Tran/. YOl. xxiii. p. 1394, N° 40.
our
our forts on the Gold Coaft, where it had been kept tame for a
long time,'and was reckoned a fcarce bird, by reafon of being
crefted. Like others of its race, it was very voracious: an experiment
was tried how many fijh it could take into the bill, and
numbers of different fizes were laid before the bird on the ground :
it firft attempted to take up one of ten pounds, but the bill
would by no means raife it from the ground ; it then picked up
as far as ten of the others, each weighing a pound, and flowed
them carefully in the bag, arranging them along-Iide each other,
with the heads towards the throat; and after this trudged off
very ftately, with the bag hanging down to his feet. The pouch
held about two gallons of Water.
Charles-Town Pelican, Zool. N° 507.
C T ZE of a Canada Goofe. Colour of the plumage dulky above ;
white on the breaft and belly; with a pouch capable of holding
numbers of gallons of liquids *.
Thefe abound in the bay of Charles-Town, in America, where
they are continually filhing.
WO fpecimens of birds fimilar to the above, if not the fame,
are in the Hunterian Mufeum. The fize correfponds: the
length four feet. Bill thirteen inches long, and differs from
many in having that part of the upper mandible which is next
the bafe almoft cylindrical, and not flat, though fpreading out
confiderably near the end: the plumage brown above: head,
7-
CHARLESTOWN
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D escrip tion.
Place.
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V arietie s.