PELICAN ISLAND 



93 



VJ{)'2 (" l)ii(l Lore," IDOl, p. 1) rej^ardiiii;' a variation iu the 

 cliaraeter of tree and ground nests. The former are com- 

 posed morelargely of sticks with a lining of grasses and are, 

 or were, often bnilt npon a platform or frame made by lay- 

 ing heavier sticks from crotch to crotch. (Ironnd nests, as a 

 rule, contain few or no sticks bnt are l)nilt largely or entirely 

 of reed grasses. 



Incubating Pelicans 



This nesting material is found in abundance on the 

 island and the birds gather it, take it from old nests, or steal 

 it from occupied nests. It is, as might be supposed, carried 

 in the bill. 



The destruction of the trees on Pelican Island has pro- 

 foundly affected the conditions of Pelican life there. An 

 arboreal nesting site was so much safer, both for eggs and 

 young, that it is possible the change to a terrestrial site has 

 been followed by an increase of at least fifty per cent in the 

 mortality of the nesting season. 



