I02 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



never rear its young free from the disturbances 

 of predacious animals and man unless it can find 

 a remote island upon which to breed. The natural 

 home of the bird is on some sandy or tule island, 

 where a large number of them nest together. 

 This showy bird would soon have been extinct 

 had it not been for the efforts of the National 

 Association of Audubon Societies in seeking out 

 the ancestral breeding places and having them 

 set aside as Federal wild-bird reservations. The 

 largest colonies of White Pelicans in the United 

 States are found on Malheur Lake. Klamath 

 Lake, and Clear Lake reservations in southern 

 Oregon and northern California. 



Through the western part of the United States, 

 the Pelican season begins in April after the snow 

 and ice have melted and lasts till August or 

 September, when the young are able to care for 

 themselves. Sometimes one will find eggs just 

 hatching from May up to July. The Pelican 

 generally lays two or three eggs and incubates 

 about four weeks before they hatch. 



The Pelican has a large skinny bag that hangs 

 from the lower part of his bill. This, when dis- 

 tended, holds several quarts of water. When not 

 in use, this sack is contracted so it occupies very 

 little space. The White Pelican uses this as a 

 dip-net by swimming along and scooping up the 

 young fry. It was formerly thou.ght that this 

 pouch served to convey live fish swimming in 

 water to the little Pelicans at home, but, as 

 Audubon remarked long ago, it is doubtful 



whether a Pelican could fly at all with his Inirden 

 so out of trim. 



The first time I ever saw a motley crowd of 

 half-grown Pelicans, I thought Nature had surely 

 done her best to make something ugly and ridicu- 

 lous. It was a warm day and the birds stood 

 around with their mouths open, panting like a lot 

 of dogs after a chase, their pouches shaking at 

 every breath. When I went near, the youngsters 

 went tottering off on their big webbed feet with 

 wings dragging on this side and that, like poorly 

 handled crutches. The }(jungsters huddled to- 

 gether by hundreds in a small place. Those on 

 the outside pushed and climbed to get near the 

 center, till it looked worse than any football 

 scrimmage I ever saw. 



One might wonder how such a huge-billed 

 bird as a Pelican could feed helpless chicks just 

 out of the egg. It was done with apparent ease. 

 The old bird regurgitated a fishy soup into the 

 front end of his pouch and the baby Pelican 

 ])itched right in and helped himself out of this 

 family dish. 



As the young bird grew older and larger, at 

 each meal he kept reaching farther into the 

 big pouch of his parent until finally, when he 

 was half-grown, it was a most remarkable sight. 

 The mother opened her mouth and the whole 

 head and neck of her nestling disappeared down 

 the capacious maw, while he hunted for his 

 dinner in the internal regions. 



William L. Finlev. 



Photo by W. L. Sti.'\x:.. C iurtrsy of i'tdd and Stream 



YOUNG PELICANS 



