464 PELECANID^. 



There can be little doubt that the true P. otwcroialus of Southern 

 Europe and Africa is specifically distinct from the smaller Indo- 

 Chinese form, P. roseus, though the two forms grade one into 

 another in the countries between Fao, at the head of the Persian 

 Gulf, and Sind. 



P. onocrotalus may be distinguished by its much larger size, 

 longer bill, swollen forehead, rising abruptly above the base of the 

 culmen, and by the number of tail-feathers, which apjiears to be 

 invariably 24. 



Owing to the scarcity of European examples in museums, I have 

 been able to examine only a limited number of skins of typical 

 P. onocrotalus, but these all agree one with another in possessing 

 24 tail-feathers. Several living examples in the Zoological Society's 

 Gardens have also been examined, and all possess 24 tail-feathers. 



P. roseus is characterized by its smaller size, shorter bill, espe- 

 cially in the females, the absence of any frontal swelling, and by 

 having the tail invariably composed of 22 feathers. Upwards of 

 100 Indian and Eurmese specimens show no variation in the number 

 of tail-feathers. 



A careful examination of specimens from Sind and Fao, at the 

 head of the Persian Gulf, shows that some specimens possess 22 tail- 

 feathers, while others have 24, and that in other respects most of 

 the birds from these countries are intermediate forms. The two 

 species evidently intcrgrade, and no doubt interbreed. 



Typical /■'. roseus is said to wander as far west as South-eastern 

 Europe and North-east Africa, and it probably also occurs in South 

 Africa, for there is an adult female Pelican which has for many 

 years been living in the Zoological Society's Gardens, and which 

 appears to be a hybrid between P. onocrotalus and P. roseus. This 

 bird, procured in the Orange Free State, has the swollen forehead 

 of the former species, but the short bill, about 12 inches in length, 

 and 22 tail-feathers characteristic of the latter. 



It must, however, be remembered that hybrid birds are often 

 wanderers, and it may be that the smaller birds reported from 

 South-east Europe and North-east Africa are intermediate forms bred 

 in the countries where the ranges of the species overlap. 



Achdt in breeding-plumage. The whole plumage white tinged with 

 beautiful rosy pink ; primaries black with white shafts ; primary- 

 coverts black : secondaries varying from blackish in those next 

 the primaries to ash-colour in those next the body ; breast-patch 

 ochreous yellow. 



The male has little or no crest ; the longest feathers on the occiput 

 and nape, measuring scarcely two inches, are not much longer than 

 those forming the mane. 



Male. Iris deep hazel-red ; orbital region pale purplish white 

 with a yellow tinge ; base of upper and lower mandible dull leaden 

 slate-colour ; the midrib paler at the base, darkest in the middle, and 

 shading off into greyish pink near the nail ; sides of the upper man- 

 dible between the midrib and the edges of a pale gamboge-yellow, 

 with streaks of light red radiating from the edge, which is uniform 



