NO. 2298. THE GUANO BIRDS OF PEBU—COKER. 487 



wings, the belly being brownish and the head and neck all white.* A 

 variety of color phases have been fully described by Forbes,^ who 

 does not attempt to interpret their sequence in life history. 



Forbes, in the paper cited, gives an interesting account of the 

 habits of the peHcans. The observations which I offer here are 

 generally supplemental to his account. 



Pelicans, whether breeding or not, spend a great deal of time on 

 the islands and are commonly seen standing in solemn ranks on 

 some hiUside or on a point of land commanding the ocean. They 

 are more timid than most of the other birds, so that one may not 

 approach them readily. Particularly in the morning, they delight 

 to find some quiet little cove where they bathe and splash in the 

 water. They make long flights on the ocean, flying in long files 

 with slow wing strokes. The comparatively slow movement of the 

 large wings gives a false appearance of leisureliness to the flight, 

 for it was observed that they were rarely passed by the more 

 " swift- winged " birds of smaller size. They not infrequently float 

 on the water while waiting for food or resting between meals. 

 The pelican shows ease and grace of movement only in flight — the 

 dive for fish has an appearance of awkwardness and causes a great 

 splash. The bird does not appear to go under water, the heavy 

 coat of feathers probably making tliis impossible. With its long 

 neck and bill fish may, however, be reached several feet beneath 

 the surface. They may devour even large fish; at one nest I found 

 a regurgitated mullet or "liza" (Mugil cej)lialus Linneaus) over a 

 foot in length. The anchobetas (Engraulis ringens Jenyns) con- 



i The following is au account of the color changes as far as I could make them out, by inference from 

 observation of the group, without the opportunity to trace the history of individual birds. With this 

 qualifying statement, I give them for what they may be worth in suggestion to other observers. 



(A) The immature bird after leaving the nest is brown with white breast, some buff on the upper side 

 of wings. Head and neck brown and without lateral stripe. Bill green at base and top, sides orange. 

 Pouch orange yellow (pi. 69). 



(JS) Nuptial plumage: The feathers of head and neck stripe are yellow; the "cravat," or necklace of 

 yellow, is formed, while the rest of the neck is a very dark brown, almost black. The covering of striate 

 feathers on the back and lower side develops, while the mantle of pearly gray completes the nuptial plum- 

 age. Tlie pouch becomes black with blue stripes on the sides anteriorly and the characteristic red appears 

 on the generally greenish bill. This phase was observed in birds occupying new-made nests and often 

 in outlying rookeries. No adults of tliis phase were found on nests where the eggs had hatched out. 



( C) After the bcguming of the laying, the yellow feathers are shed and replaced by white, which, how- 

 ever, do not extend so far into the crest nor are so long as the yellow. A "cravat" of greater or less size 

 may be retained or may be lost entirely. Many of the birds in the nests iiad heads partly yellow and 

 partly white. The longer yellow feathers being in patches of greater or less size amid the shorter crop of 

 whites. The changes do not always occur in just the same order. Thus whitehead birds may still show 

 some white featliers in the lower side of body. 



(D) Another phase may be described, but whether it represents a possible stage between (B) and ( C), 

 or an older stage than ( C), or is a phase peculiar to one sex, I am unable to say. Birds in this phase were 

 observed to be brooding. The head and neck stripes are light gray, the neck is soft gray, the upper parts 

 are generally brown, but a small region of back and breast around the base of the neck has the typical 

 white and dark brown striate feathers; the breast is generally white mottled with brown feathers having 

 a white mecUan stripe; the bill is red and yellow, the pouch as in ( C) but paler. This phase includes some 

 features of the immature (A), and some of the typical brooder ( C), but the gray neck is characteristic. 



2 Forbes, Henry O. Notes on Molina's Pelican (PeZecon«.s ttaiyus). The Ibis. Tenth Series. Vol. 2, 

 No. 3. London, July, 1914, pp. 403-420. 



