BIRDS OF KANSAS. 45 



soon after the young are hatched; simultaneously with the shedding of this ap- 

 pendage the nuchal crest falls off, and in its place a patch of short, brownish- 

 gray feathers appears; this disappears with the fall moult, when the occiput is 

 entirely unadorned, there being neither crest nor colored patch." 



stretch of 

 Length. zuing-. IVing. Ta.il. Tarsus. Bill. 



Male 65.00 104.00 24.00 7.25 5.00 14.75 



Female... 59.50 95.00 22.00 6.25 4.80 11.50 



The birds are social in their habits, rarely quarrel, and are 

 seldom to be seen alone, are very strong upon the wing, soaring 

 for hours, often at an immense height. From their large size, re- 

 markably long bill, and expansive pouch, they readily attract the 

 attention of the most indifferent of observers; and it is an in- 

 teresting sight to watch the birds upon their feeding grounds, 

 as they unite to drive the fishes into shallow water, where they 

 can catch them, which they cannot well do in deep water, as 

 their skins are honeycombed with air cells that buoy them up 

 like a cork and prevent their diving,* and they do not plunge 

 for their food v.'hen upon the wing, like their cousins, the Brown 

 Pelicans, and therefore have to adopt fishing habits suited to 

 shallow water. I have often noticed the birds in flocks, in 

 pairs, or alone, swimming on the water with partially opened 

 wings, and head drawn down and back, the bill just clearing 

 the water, ready to strike and gobble up the prey within their 

 reach; when so fishing, if they ran into a shoal of minnows, 

 they would stretch out their necks, drop their heads upon the 

 water, and with open mouths and extended pouches scoop up 

 the tiny fry. Their favorite time for fishing on the seashore is 

 during the incoming tide, as with it come the small fishes to 

 feed upon the insects caught in the rise and upon the low forms 

 of life in the drift, as it washes shoreward, the larger fishes fol- 

 lowing in their wake — each, from the smallest to the largest, 

 eagerly engaged in taking life in order to sustain life. All sea 

 birds know this and the time of its coming well, and the White 

 Pelicans that have been patiently waiting in line along the 

 beach quietly move into the water, and glide smoothly out, so 

 as not to frighten the life beneath, and, at a suitable distance 



* The statement In North American Birds — Water Birds, Vol. II, page 137, that this spe- 

 cies "dives with great celerity" is in error. 



