6 NATUKE AND SPORT IN SOUTH AFRICA 



somewhat of a fluke, and the shot must have instantly 

 touched a vital spot, for we found afterwards that, 

 even to bullet-wounds, the birds did not easily suc- 

 cumb. The next evening Dove (my hunting friend) 

 shot one with a Martini-Henry sporting rifle. The 

 bird fell, but was making off rapidly to some 

 cover, when Dove gave it another shot. Even that 

 by no means finished it. As we walked up, the 

 creature struck at us fiercely with its formidable- 

 looking bill. It showed no signs of dying, and 

 another shot was fired at close quarters, and 

 even then, with three bullets clean through its body, 

 the pelican was extremely loth to give up the ghost. 

 The pelican found on the Lake river was un- 

 doubtedly Felecanus onocrotcdus (Linnaeus), but I am 

 inclined to think that the measurements credited to 

 this species in Layard's Birds of South Africa are 

 hardly representative of the specimens shot by us. 

 Dove and I carefully measured from wing-tip to 

 wing-tip of a bird held stretched out. The measure- 

 ment was 9 ft. 8 in. This, although perhaps not a 

 strictly fair measurement, hardly tallies with the single 

 wing measurement — 2 ft. 5 in. — given in Layard. 

 The extreme length of this specimen was over 

 6 ft. 3 in. Indeed, until one gets one of these birds 

 down, and begins to inspect its proportions closely, 

 one has small idea of its great size. I photographed 

 the specimen I have referred to ; it was held up by its 



