6 



WILD WINGS 



NEWLY HATCHKl) VULN. 



on the bushes were built of sticks, weed-stems, and grass, and 

 were quite bulky, while the ground nests were much smaller, 

 composed largely of soft materials. The contents of the nests 

 were greatly varied. Though the nesting-season of the peli- 

 cans begins as early as November or December, many of the 



nests still had their complements 

 of great, dirty-white eggs, some 

 of them comparati\-ely clean and 

 fresh. These may have been 

 second or third layings, owing 

 to previous deprivations, though 

 to what extent individual j^eli- 

 cans may be irregular in their 

 nesting-time, I cannot say. In 

 other nests, there were young, 

 in all stages, from the naked, 

 newly hatched, and rather re- 

 pulsive-looking callow bird-life, to the more sightly, yet not 

 altogether handsome, downy stage. Still other nests were 

 emptv, but that their mission had not been fruitless was evi- 

 dent from the numbers of well-gn !wn young that were running 

 about in all directions. Evidently they were all but able to 

 fly, as their wing-feathers seemed to be well grown, though 

 on the bodies the feathers were still more or less downy and 

 ragged. In color thev were verv different from their parents, 

 being of a lighter grav, and mainlv white on the under jxirts. 

 These young pelicans afforded us quite a litti^ amusement. 

 Though they evidently inherited not a little of the true peli- 

 can gravity of demeanor, their childishness ct)uld not but show 

 out. For one thing, they were, like most children, eminently 

 social. They made me think of gangs of boys upon the street 

 corners, as they congregated here and there in groups, chat- 

 tering away in peculiar, guttural tones, individuals falling 



