THE WIITTF, PELICAN 379 



the parents, indieates a surprising lack of parental solici- 

 tude. Had the old l)irds shown half the spirit of a Catbird 

 or Robin, an invasion of their homes would ha\-e been a ser- 

 ious affair ; but their haste to make g"ood their own escape 

 g'ave us no opportunity to cultivate their acquaintance. Tt 

 was observed, however, that no birds still wore the knob on 

 the bill, while the niunber of these appendages scattered 

 about the island showed that many had been shed. 



Our discovery of eight colonies or settlements of Peli- 

 cans on Anahao Island, where Kidgway found but one, indi- 

 cates an increase in the Pelican population during a period 

 whe7i most of the larger birds of America have diminished 

 in numbers. ^Yliite Pelicans, which invai'iably vanish when 

 mail a])])oai's, have evidently, therefore, found a congenial 

 retreat on Pyi-amid Tjake, and in view of the remoteness and 

 aridity of the region, one might imagine tliat they will long 

 continue to exist there without molestation. P>u<. alas ! civi- 

 lization in a form most fatal to ccj-faiu species of birds, is 

 undermining their stronghold. 



>\side fi'om local drainage, the Truckee Pivor is the sole 

 water supply of Pyramid Lake and its sister, Winnemucca 

 Lake. A Government Reclamation Service Project, already 

 well advanced, taps the Truckee on its way from Lake 

 Tahoe down the eastern slope of the Sierras, in order to 

 irrigate the Carson Valley. So much water will be taken 

 that only enough will be left to supply one of the two lakes 

 the Truckee feeds. "Winnemucca is the fortunate one 

 while beautiful Pyramid Lake is doomed to slow death by 

 evaporation. As increasing alkalinity kills the delicious 

 trout which now abound in it, the Pelicans will be robbed of 

 their food. For a time they may fish in "Winnemucca, but 

 eventually the shoaling waters will connect their island with 

 the mainland, and when the rerpiisite insular protection dis- 

 appears, the Pelicans must seek another island home. 



Sadly enough, the same fate awaits the Pelicans which 

 three years later (June 30-July 7, 1907), I visited on Lower 



