PELICANS 



lOI 



PELICANS 



Order Stcgcuiopodcs; family Pclccanidcs 



WELVE species of these singularly grotesque but interesting birds are recog- 

 nized, and they occur generally throughout the temperate and tropical regions 

 of both hemispheres, three of them being North American. They are birds 

 of considerable size, their bodies varying in length from fifty to seventy inches, 

 while some have a wing expanse of nearly ten feet. 



The distinctive feature of the Pelican is the great pouch which depends 

 from its lower bill. As the bird's bill may be eighteen inches long, it will be 

 realized that the capacity of this pouch, six inches or more in depth, is very 

 considerable. Some of the species use this pouch very much as a scoop net 

 is employed, and all of them store in it fish which they take to their young. 

 Most of the bird's prey is captured in this manner, though some is taken by 

 diving. Another physical peculiarity is the excrescence which develops at about the middle 

 of the upper mandible during the breeding season. What, if any, purpose it serves is not 

 known. It is shed coincidently with the fall molt. 



The Pelican on land is very ungainly, its uncouth appearance being due in part to the 

 awkward kink in its neck, which produces the impression of great discomfort. In point of 

 fact, however, this position is due to the singular articulation of the eighth or ninth vertebra 

 with the one on either side, so that it is really impossible for the bird to straighten its neck. 

 The Pelican's flight is a combination of flapping and sailing, and though not rapid is steady 

 and confident. A long line of these birds, flapping and sailing alternately, and often in 

 nearly perfect unison, is an interesting spectacle. 



These birds are decidedly gregarious and often breed in very large colonies. They 

 build on the ground large nests composed of sticks. The eggs are from two to five in number 

 and are bluish-white in color. 



WHITE PELICAN 

 Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Ginelm 



A. O, U. Number 1^5 



Other Names. — American White Pelican; Common 

 Pelican (of the .\orth). 



General Description. — Length. 5 feet; spread of 

 wings, 9 feet. General color, white. Bill with pouch 

 hanging from under side. 



Color. — Adults: Plumage, ivhitc with black t>riiiia- 

 rics : lengthened feathers of back of head, breast, and 

 some of the lesser wing-coverts, pale straw-yellow : 

 bill and feet, yellow tinged with reddish ; lower part of 

 bill, brighter than upper, which has the ridge whitish ; 

 pouch shading from whitish in front through yellow 

 and orange to red at base ; bare skin around eye, 

 orange ; eyelids, red ; iris, pearly-white. Young: Lesser 

 wing-coverts and some feathers on head, grayish ; 



Ijill and feet, dull yellowish ; otherwise as in adults. 



Nest and Eggs. — \est : On the ground ; con- 

 structed by the bird scraping the sandy soil into a heap 

 about half a foot high and erectin.g a shallow platform 

 nf sticks and weeds on this base. Eggs: 2, dull chalky- 

 white with a chalky incrustation. 



Distribution. — Temperate North .America ; breeds 

 from southern British Columbia, Great Slave Lake, and 

 southwestern Keewatin to Manitoba. North Dakota 

 (formerly southern Minnesota and South Dakota). 

 LTtah. and southern California; winters from southern 

 California to Gulf States, Florida, and Cuba south to 

 western Mexico and Costa Rica; casual in migration 

 cast to .Atlantic coast, north to Xcw Brunswick. 



Tlie ."Xmerican White Pelican wn.s formerly 

 found in the Kast as well as in the West, but the 

 range of the bird has contracted until it is rarely 

 seen on the ."Xtlantic coast. The bird formerly 



nested in Minnesota, but the most eastern nest- 

 ing site to-day witliin the United States is in 

 North Dakota. A bird so conspicuous in size 

 and color, and one that nests on the grntind, can 



