1 32 BIRD-HUNTING 



nests — a few only a day or two old, others as large 

 as a goose. Many young were scattered over the 

 island, sitting on the sand ; the smaller ones pro- 

 gressed by crawling, helping themselves along with 

 their wings. 



Those in down presented a curious appearance. 

 Their colour was a dull, dirty white, with leaden- 

 coloured beaks and feet, and small pouches of the 

 same colour. These young Pelicans made a constant 



moaning sound like the lowing of cows, or as B 



described it, like buffaloes. 



The stomach of one of these young birds in 

 down which I skinned was enormously distended, 

 and contained a large double handful of what looked 

 like vegetable matter. It was difficult to imagine 

 that it could have proceeded from a fish diet, but 

 rather resembled the contents of a goose's stomach 

 after grazing in a field. I had several opportunities 

 of watching the young being fed by their parents. 

 Naumann says^ that Pelecanus onocrotalns feeds its 

 young from the pouch. In the case of Pelecanus cris- 

 pus y however, the young bird inserts its whole head 

 down the parent's throat much lower than the opening 

 of the pouch. In fact, the point of the young bird's 

 beak could be distinctly seen pressing from inside at 

 the base of the old bird's neck. In this observation 



I was corroborated by B , who watched with his 



glass from a neighbouring islet on which were also 



