VOL. IX. I ON INCUBATION. 115 



the young consequent on the ovitegous h?«bit. I had 

 then no observations bearing on the behaviour of the 

 adults to the young in such cases. Whilst photo- 

 graphing the White Pelican, however, 1 was able to 

 obtam some interesting data on the point. One such 

 ob.servation is as follows. 



Some adult Pelicans were preening and A\-aslimg on a 

 point about a hundred yards away from the blmd : one 

 of these swam across to the shore near the blind and 

 landed ; the place of landing was evidently regarded by 

 a Herring-Gull as its domain (it had young there), for 

 it called loudly and made a rush towards the Pelican. 

 The big bird snapped its beak and stood still. The Gull 

 then took A^-ing and flew over backwards and forwards, 

 swooping at the Pelican each time it passed, the Pelican 

 ducking. Several other Gulls joined m. Finalty the 

 Pelican, growing weary of his tormentors, made a rush, 

 half flying and half runnmg towards a herd of young 

 Pehcans which were grouped near the blind. These young 

 were evidently its objective from the first. As soon as 

 the old bird began to approach, but an appreciable time 

 before it reached the herd, two young birds started fighting 

 together. They continued hard at it after the adult 

 arrived, pecking at each other's beaks, etc., the old 

 one standing quietly by and making no attempt to 

 interfere. Finally the larger one (there Avas considerable 

 disparity in size) beat the smaller off, and came back to 

 their parent, which both young had obviously recognized 

 at some little distance, and was at once fed. Almost 

 immediately, however, the smaller followed and pecked 

 vicious!}^ at the larger, whose head was now far down, the 

 parent's throat (this is the usual manner of feeding the 

 young in this species) and m the circumstances incapable 

 of retaliation. It then laid down by the feeding bird and 

 also tried to get its beak down the parent's throat (at 

 the same time that the larger one was feeding) with no 

 success. WTien the larger had finished feeding, the smaller 

 attacked it and then made determined efforts to get its 



