Tantalus leucocephalus
(gcide) | Pelican \Pel"i*can\ (p[e^]l"[i^]*kan), n. [F. p['e]lican, L.
pelicanus, pelecanus, Gr. peleka`n, peleka^s, pele`kanos, the
woodpecker, and also a water bird of the pelican kind, fr.
peleka^n to hew with an ax, fr. pe`lekys an ax, akin to Skr.
para[,c]u.] [Written also pelecan.]
1. (Zool.) Any large webfooted bird of the genus Pelecanus,
of which about a dozen species are known. They have an
enormous bill, to the lower edge of which is attached a
pouch in which captured fishes are temporarily stored.
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Note: The American white pelican ({Pelecanus
erythrorhynchos}) and the brown species ({Pelecanus
fuscus}) are abundant on the Florida coast in winter,
but breed about the lakes in the Rocky Mountains and
British America.
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2. (Old Chem.) A retort or still having a curved tube or
tubes leading back from the head to the body for
continuous condensation and redistillation.
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Note: The principle is still employed in certain modern forms
of distilling apparatus.
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Frigate pelican (Zool.), the frigate bird. See under
Frigate.
Pelican fish (Zool.), deep-sea fish ({Eurypharynx
pelecanoides}) of the order Lyomeri, remarkable for the
enormous development of the jaws, which support a large
gular pouch.
Pelican flower (Bot.), the very large and curiously shaped
blossom of a climbing plant (Aristolochia grandiflora)
of the West Indies; also, the plant itself.
Pelican ibis (Zool.), a large Asiatic wood ibis ({Tantalus
leucocephalus}). The head and throat are destitute of
feathers; the plumage is white, with the quills and the
tail greenish black.
Pelican in her piety (in heraldry and symbolical art), a
representation of a pelican in the act of wounding her
breast in order to nourish her young with her blood; -- a
practice fabulously attributed to the bird, on account of
which it was adopted as a symbol of the Redeemer, and of
charity.
Pelican's foot (Zool.), a marine gastropod shell of the
genus Aporrhais, esp. Aporrhais pes-pelicani of
Europe.
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