296 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



"ONLY A FEW OF THE BIRDS LEFT THEIR NESTS. 



many of these being sterile. 



One photograph in our series shows 

 a typical nest containing one egg and 

 a small naked youngster apparently but 

 a few days old. Others show groups 

 of young in and about the nests. Some 

 of these seemed alarmed at my ap- 

 proach and scrambled away in a most 

 awkward manner ; a few showed an in- 

 clination to light, but the most of them 

 remained silent and paid no attention 

 to me whatever. 



The young pelicans are comparative- 

 ly helpless until they are quite large, it 

 being several months before they are 



"SOME OF THE NESTS WERE WELL BUILT 

 STRUCTURES OF GRASS." 



•%> 



'** **, 



% 



if - 





SVB 





YOUNG PELICAN A FEW DAYS OLD. 



able to care for themselves. During 

 this time they are subject to many dan- 

 gers. Storms rage over the island de- 

 stroying many young in their nests. 

 On account of its slight rise above the 

 surface of the river, and the unusual 

 fact of these nests being placed upon 

 the ground, a flood sometimes destroys 

 them in large numbers, or causes the 

 old birds to temporarily leave the 

 island, while the young starve. For 

 some reason, not fully understood, 



