17U .MACGILLIXRAY. Australian Pelican. [^sU^aT 



between the young in the same nest, leading one to infer that 

 the ei;!;g<, of a clutch were laid on successive days. 



The young birds hatched on the 29th January had now, a 

 fortnight later, grown to the size of large domestic fowls, and 

 had the whole of the upper surface covered with very short 

 white down uj) to the occiput, and their skin had become whitish 

 in colour. 



These birds were beginning to leave their nests and to huddle 

 together in small lots of si.\ or seven, and to waddle away on 

 their tarso-metatarsus when apjiroached, uttering protesting 

 harsh barking or grunting cries. 



The adult birds rarely call at all ; only on rare occasions does 

 one hear a flying bird give out a hoarse grunt. 



The young were now in sufficient numbers to show a good 

 deal of variation in colour of the bill, face and irides. Typical 

 young have the soft parts of the face like the rest of the body, 

 a fairly bright fleshy-pink becoming dull white as they grow 

 older, the iris is dark brown, but occasional birds of this type 

 have silvery-white irides. A number have the face, bill and 

 space round the eye more or less black or blackish brown, and 

 with these the irides may be either brown or silvery-white also. 



The mas.ses of disgorged fish have increased greatly in num- 

 ber and some larger ones up to 8 or 10 inches in length are 

 amongst them. 



The adult birds do not carry fish in the pouch, which is only 

 used for ])urposes of ca])ture. All fish is brought from the fish- 

 ing ground in the cro]). When the adult bird is flying or walking 

 or swimming, the jiouch is always tucked up; only when standing 

 idly on the land is it relaxed; it may be seen in young of all 

 ages and adults flap])ing with the res])iratory movements. 



The young feed by putting head and neck down the parent's 

 throat by the angle of the l)ill, and heli)ing themselves from the 

 contents of the croji, which are regularly regurgitated uj) to them 

 bv the f)arent. They are, however, even at earliest age capable 

 of helping themseKes from the heaps of small fish left on the 

 nest. In stretching up their necks and heads as though soliciting 

 food or prcitesting at our intrusion, they dilate the rami of the 

 mandible and so widen the opening of the pouch. They have 

 also the habit common to the young of many water birds of dis- 

 gorging their stomach contents by way of a peace oft'ering. 



Several Silver tiulls (Lams novcr-hollandicr) were about the 

 island on the look-out for a broken egg or a weakly or unpro- 

 tected young one, and a few Ravens {Corx-us corouoidcs) had 

 found their way o\er from the adjacent mainland. 



Man\- ("lull-billed Terns (Gclochclidoii uilotica) and Marsh 

 or Whiskered Terns (Chlidotiias Icncoparcia) were hawking over 

 the water f)r perched on a small bank out from the island. Cas- 

 ])ian Terns { Hydro protjuc casf^ia) frccpicnt these inland waters 

 in odd pairs, as I ha\e identified them at close (|uarters and 

 handled shot sjiecimens. 



