American White Pelican 29 



Description. — Adult — Plumage white throughout, except for the 

 primaries, their coverts, and some of the secorxdaries, which are black ; 

 some elongated feathers on the occiput, breast and lesser wing -coverts 

 straw -yellow ; tail with twenty -four feathers ; iris pearl-white, bill, 

 which bears a horny excrescence on the culmen, orange-red with 

 the ridge of the culmen whitish ; bare skin about the eye, gular 

 pouch and feet orange. Length 60'0 ; wing 24-0 ; tail 6'0 ; culmen 

 12-0; tarsus 4-5. 



After the breeding season the excrescence is lost, and the crest 

 is replaced by a dusky spot. In winter the occiput is white and the 

 bill, pouch and feet are yellow not orange. Young birds are like the 

 winter adults, but have a little grey on the top of the head and on the 

 lesser coverts. 



Distribution. — Breeding chiefly in the western interior of North 

 America, from Oregon and Utah north to Hudson Bay ; in winter 

 south to the Gulf of California and Mexican coasts as far as Guatemala. 



The Pelican was formerly not uncommon on migration, while a 

 few are said to have bred in Colorado. Of late years, no doubt owing 

 to increase of population, it has been less often seen, nor have I met 

 with any undoubted account of its nesting within the State. 



It arrives from the south at the end of April, and has been noticed 

 by W. G. Smith at Loveland on the 23rd of that month. On May 22nd, 

 1898, nine out of a flock of eighteen were killed on Prospect Lake on 

 the confines of Colorado Springs, and a flock of forty was seen near 

 Denver in the spring of the same year. It is an irregular summer 

 resident at Barr but not known to breed (Hersey & Rockwell). In 

 the fall migration it appears to pass through the mountains, and has 

 been observed by Carter at an elevation of 13,000 feet, and there 

 is an example in his collection killed near Breckenridge, August 10th, 

 1892. It is also recorded from San Luis Valley in October, and 

 from Grand Junction on the western slope, where Mr. Sullivan saw 

 a flock of eight, September 4th, 1904. 



Habits. — White Pelicans are found on the sea coasts 

 and in the interior, chiefly along the larger rivers and 

 in marshes where there is a plentiful supply of fish, 

 on which they feed almost exclusively ; they fly well 

 with the neck bent and the head close to the shoulders, 

 and often ascend to a great height in the air and there 

 perform wonderful aerial evolutions ; they also swim 

 well and strongly, but are said not to be able to dive. 

 They pursue their prey in considerable numbers in a 



