posed to enable it, like the Exoceti and some other fishes, to support itself for a few moments in air, while it springs occasionally over the surface of the water. The thorax or superior part of the body is of a broad, slightly flattened, squarish form, and is marked both above and beneath by several radiated shields or bony tubercles of considerable size: from each side the abdomen springs a lengthened cirrus, which supplies the place of a ventral fin: from the thorax the body decreases suddenly in diameter, and is marked into several divisions or transverse segments; the tail is small and slightly rounded; and the pectoral fins are large, of a rounded shape, with an indented outline: the eyes are large and protuberant, and the snout of a sub-conical form, but with a slight dilatation towards the tip. The colour of this fish is whitish, with a cast of pale brown. The FLYING PEGASUS (Pegasus volans) is somewhat smaller than the preceding: snout much elongated, flattened, rounded, and slightly dilated at the tip; marked by a longitudinal channel, and denticulated on the edges on the head a rhomboidal depression, and behind it two deep sub-pentagonal cavities: last joints of the body, next the tail, pointed on each side.

The SWIMMING PEGASUS (Pegasus natans) is of a much more slender shape than that of the P. volans: colour yellowish brown,

SWIMMING PEGASUS.-(P, NATANS.) whitish beneath; snout slender, slightly dilated and rounded at the tip: pectoral fins rounded, and of moderate size; dorsal situated on the middle of the back; tail small, and slightly rounded: ventral cirri slender and flexible.

PEKAN, or WOOD-SHOCK. The name given to a species of Marten (the Martes Canadensis) found in North America.

PELECANIDE. The name given to a family of Natatores or Swimming Birds. They have the hind toe united with the others by a single membrane; they are excellent swimmers, often perch on trees, and have short legs: their beak is long, the edge of it generally toothed; and the skin of the throat is more or less extensible, forming a bag in which they keep the fish as they catch them, to feed their young. They are a large, voracious, and wandering tribe, living for the most part on the ocean, flying with ease and swiftness, and never visiting the land for any length of time but at the season of incubation.

PELICAN. (Pelecanus.) This is a genus containing several large web-footed species of birds, residing on rivers, lakes, or along the sea-coast, and preying on fish. They have a long,straight, broad, and much depressed bill; upper mandibles flattened, terminated by a nail, or very strong hook, the lower formed by two bony branches, which are depressed, flexible, and united at the tip; and from these branches is suspended a naked skin in form of a pouch; face and throat naked; nostrils basal, in the form of narrow longitudinal slits; legs short and strong; all the four toes connected by a web; wings of moderate dimensions. "The expansive pouch, whose elasticity is well known to all who have witnessed the shapes into which it is stretched and formed by the itinerant showmen, will hold a considerable number of fish, and thus enables the bird to dispose of the superfluous quantity which may be taken during fishing excursions, either for its own consumption or for the nourishment of its young. In feeding the nestlings-and the male is said to supply the wants of the female when sitting in the same mannerthe under mandible is pressed against the neck and breast, to assist the bird in disgorging the contents of the capacious pouch, and during this action the red nail of the upper mandible would appear to come in contact with the breast, thus laying the foundation, in all probability, for the fable that the Pelican nourishes her young with her blood, and for the attitude in which the imagination of painters has placed the bird in books of emblems, &c., with the blood spirting from the wounds made by the terminating nail of the upper mandible into the gaping mouths of her offspring."- Broderip. Pelicans are gregarious, and fish is their favourite food: they store up their prey in their gular pouch, from which it is gradually transferred to the oesophagus, as the process of digestion goes on; but when harassed or pursued, they readily reject the contents of the stomach, like the Gull tribe. Though remarkable for their voracity, some of the species have been trained to fish in the service of man. The species are widely spread throughout the world, but are not numerous. In external appearance the sexes very nearly resemble each other.

The COMMON PELICAN. (Pelecanus onocrofaintly tinged with flesh or light rose colour, talus.) The colour of the Pelican is white, which is brightest in the breeding season; gullet with a bright yellow pouch. The first quill-feathers and spurious wings are black; the bag at the throat is flaccid, membranous, and capable of great distension; naked space round the eyes and at the base of the bill, where the frontal feathers form a point, flesh-colour; the upper mandible bluish, with a crimson line running along the top, reddish at the base, yellowish at the tip, and the terminal nail red; irides hazel; feet livid; tail short. Length between five and six feet; expanse of wings twelve or thirteen feet. The young are distinguished by the prevalence of ash-colour in their plumage. About the middle of September, flocks of

this species repair to Egypt, in regular bands, terminating in an obtuse angle. During the summer months they take up their abode on the borders of the Black Sea and the shores of Greece. In France they are very rare; in Great Britain unknown. They generally take their prey in the morning and evening, when the fish are most in motion.

COMMON PELICAN,
(PELECANUS ONOOROTALUS.)

At night the Pelican retires a little way on the shore to rest, with its head leaning against its breast; and in this attitude it remains almost motionless, till hunger calls it to break off its repose. It then flies from its resting-place, and, raising itself thirty or forty feet above the surface of the sea, turns its head, with one eye downwards, and continues on wing till it sees a fish sufficiently near the surface, when it darts down with astonishing swiftness, seizes it with unerring certainty, and stores it away in its pouch; it then rises again, and continues the same manœuvres till it has procured a competent stock. The female feeds her young with fish that have been macerated for some time in her pouch. The Pelican generally breeds in marshy and uncultivated places, particularly about islands and lakes, making its nest, which is a foot and a half in diameter, and proportionably deep, of sedges and aquatic plants, and lining it with soft grass. It lays two or more white eggs, of equal roundness at the two ends, and which, when persecuted, it sometimes hides in the water. When it nestles in dry and desert places, it brings water to its young in its bag, which is capable of containing nearly twenty pints. Pelicans are rarely seen farther than twenty miles from the land. To a certain extent, they appear to be gregarious.

The account which Capt. Flinders gives of the Pelicans which he saw while on his voyage of Discovery at Terra Australis is almost as pathetic as it is descriptive: "Flocks of the old birds were sitting upon the beaches of the lagoon, and it appeared that the islands were their breeding places: not only so, but from the number of bones and skeletons there scattered, it should seem that they had for ages been selected for the closing scene of their existence. Certainly

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none more likely to be free from disturbance of every kind could have been chosen, than these islets in a hidden lagoon of an uninhabited island, situate upon an unknown coast near the antipodes of Europe: nor can anything be more consonant to the feelings, if Pelicans have any, than quietly to resign their breath, whilst surrounded by their progeny, and in the same spot where they first drew it." It was on this passage that Mr. James Montgomery founded his beautiful poem, The Pelican Island.'

In many places the Pelicans are almost regarded as sacred birds: for instance, a correspondent of the Athenæum, when travelling in Persia, speaks of "an immense flock of Pelicans which got up out of the reeds, and flew across our course, many passing quite close to the peak of our sail; one of our Greek servants, Yanni, a Cypriote, drew his pistol to fire at them: but his arm was caught by an Arnout, who told him the bird was sacred, Pelicans having brought water in their bill-pouches to Ali after a battle, when he lay on the desert faint with extreme thirst and toil."

PELIDNOTA. A genus of Lamellicorn Beetles of an elongated shape, somewhat related to the Cockchafer. It contains many Brazilian species, some of them with bril

liant metallic green and copper reflections. In this genus we may specify, from Dr.Harris's work, the common North American species.

The PELIDNOTA PUNCTATA, or SPOTTED PELIDNOTA. A large beetle, arranged among the Rutelidae, which is found on the cultivated and wild grape-vine, sometimes in great abundance, during the months of July and August. It is of an oblong oval shape, and about an inch long. The wingcovers are tile-coloured, or dull brownish yellow, with three distinct black spots on each; the thorax is darker, and slightly bronzed, with a black dot on each side; the body beneath, and the legs, are of a deep bronzed green colour. These beetles fly by day; but may also be seen at the same time on the leaves of the grape, which are their only food. They sometimes prove very injurious to the vine. The only method of destroying them is to pick them off by hand, and crush them under foot. The larva live in rotten wood.

PELOPEUS,or DIRT-DAUBER. [See WASP.]

PENELOPE, or GUAN. (Penelope cristata.) This bird resembles, both in appearance and manners, the Curassows, and seems, like them, to be capable, with proper care and attention, of being added to our stock of domesticated poultry. In a wild state they inhabit Guiana and Brazil, and are said to furnish an excellent dish for the table. They are about thirty inches in length, the tail being about thirteen. Upper parts dusky black or bronze, glossed with green and olive; fore part of neck and breast spotted with white; belly and legs, lower part of the back, and under tail-coverts, reddish. Cheeks naked, and of a purple violet colour. Bill

depressed, and of equal breadth throughout; the prothorax large, flat, and quadrate; the eyes prominent and globose, and between them three ocelli in a triangle; the mandibles small, flat, and membranous; and the antennæ nearly as long as the body, and multi-articulate. The insects belonging to this family frequent damp marshy situations, and the borders of lakes and rivers, resting upon stones, palings, and plants growing close to the water's edge; they are sluggish in their movements, and the larger species are esteemed an excellent bait for tront. In their preparatory states they reside in the water, the larvæ being naked, not enclosed in a case, and in general form resembling the imago, except in wanting wings. These insects have been studied much in this country by Mr. Newman, and abroad by M. Pictet of Geneva; the latter has published their history with much detail.

PERN, or HONEY-BUZZARD. (Pernis apivorus.) This is one of the most elegant of the British birds of prey, or rather of such migratory species as become occasional visitants here. It is a trifle longer than the common Buzzard, and rather more slender: the bill is black, the irides yellow, the crown of the head is ash-coloured, and the cheeks are covered with small feathers. The neck, back, scapulars, and covert feathers of the wings, are of a deep brown; the breast and belly are white, marked with dusky spots pointing downwards; the tail is long, of a dull brown colour, and marked with three broad dusky bars, between each of which there are two or three of the same colour, but narrower: the legs are short, strong, and thick and the claws are large and black. The Honey Buzzard generally lays two eggs, blotched over with a fainter and a deeper red: it builds its nest on small twigs, which it covers with wool. It feeds on bees, wasps, &c.

In an interesting article on the changes which take place in the plumage of this bird, communicated by W. R. Fisher, Esq., of Great Yarmouth, to the "Zoologist," the writer says, " As the Honey Buzzard has, I believe, never, except in the instance recorded by White of Selbourne, in the year 1780, been satisfactorily ascertained to have bred in this country, British ornithologists are deprived of this means of watching the changes by which it ultimately assumes the adult dress. For even if it were possible to procure the eggs or young from those countries of the East to which this species is said to be indigenous, the process would be so tedious and expensive, that few naturalists would be willing to undertake it; and the difficulty of rearing young birds, and the many casualties towhich they are subject during the process of moulting, are well known."-Six specimens are delineated; and the gradations from a dark clove brown in the plumage of one, to the almost pure white (except of the wings and tail) in another, are truly remarkable but that these striking differences are partly to be attributed to certain periodical changes, and partly arising from the difference of age and sex, there can be

no doubt. Four of the birds there figured were taken in the county of Norfolk in the month of September, 1841. It is an error, however, to imagine that the Honey-buzzard does not breed in this country, or that it so rarely happens as to render it necessary for naturalists to refer to so distant a date as the year 1780: several recent instances of its nidification in different parts of this country could easily be given the usual season for it being about the beginning of June. The nests are chiefly composed of sticks and twigs, and made very shallow, except just where the eggs are deposited: and the situation chosen for the nest is generally on one of the largest branches of an oak.

PERNA. A genus of Conchiferous Mollusca, the shell of which is sub-equivalve, irregular, compressed, and foliaceous; hinge straight and broad, divided into parallel grooves; bosses small; margins very brittle. They are mostly from India, the Cape Verde Islands, &c., and generally found adhering to rocks deep in the sea; considerable clusters being frequently found attached firmly to each other by the byssus. The genus is chiefly distinguished by the straightness, number, and regularity of the grooves in the hinge and the sinus, for the passage of the byssus. Its shape recals to mind that of a gammon of bacon: hence the name.

PETALOCERA. A tribe of Coleopterous insects, comprising those which have antennæ terminated by a foliated mass. The mandibles are very variable in their structure, corresponding with the habits of the various groups; and the head and thorax of the males are armed with strange horns or protuberances, of which it is difficult to conceive the uses. The body is generally more or less oval and convex, the legs robust, and the anterior tibiæ dentated on the outside. In many of the insects, especially those which feed upon leaves, the internal edge of the mandibles is formed into a broad horny plate, with various transverse channels, well formed for masticating. insects subsist on vegetable substances, some while in a state of decay, and others upon fresh leaves and flowers, their larvæ devour

These

ing the roots of grass, &c., and often doing much damage. The head of the larva is generally large and horny, convex in front, with the top curved; the mandibles are strong, flat on the anterior surface, concave on the posterior; the legs are robust, with four joints, terminated by a strong hook. Some of these larvæ are several years in attaining their full size; they then form, in situations where they reside, an oval cocoon, composed of earth, excrements, and morsels of gnawed wood, &c. agglutinated together. The pupae are of the ordinary form; but the sheaths of the lower wings are rather longer than those of the elytra. As examples of this tribe we may cite the COCKCHA FER, STAG-BEETLE, ROSE-BEETLE, SCARA

BÆUS, &C.

PETALURA. A genus of gigantic Dragon-flies, found in New Holland and New Zealand; a closely allied species of which