THE AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN. 857 
No. 345. 
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN. 
A, O. U. No. 125. Pelecanus erythrorhynchus Gmel. 
Synonym.—RoucH-BILLED PELICAN. 
Description.—Adult in breeding plumage: General plumage white; the 
primaries blackish touched with hoary gray near tips; secondaries blackish with 
white basally ; a pendant occipital crest of white or pale yellow; lanceolate feathers 
of lesser wing-coverts and chest pale yellow or buff; a thin, elevated, horny pro- 
tuberance on ridge of culmen a little forward of the middle; bill and pouch red- 
dish; legs and feet bright orange-red. Aduw/t in winter: Similar but without 
horny protuberance on bill; the occipital crest wanting; yellow coloring of chest 
and wing-coverts pale; bill and feet not so bright. Jmmature: Like adult in 
winter, but feathers of crown and lesser wing-coverts mixed with brownish 
gray; chest feathers not modified; a fluffy, short, occipital crest; the bill, pouch, 
legs, and feet pale yellowish. “Length 4% to nearly 6 feet; extent 8% to nearly 
10 feet; weight about 17 pounds” (Ridgway). Wing 22.00 (558.9); tail 6.00 
(152.4) ; bill 10.50-15.00 (266.7-381) ; tarsus 4.50 (114.3). 
Recognition Marks.—Immense size, with large bill and gular pouch; white 
plumage. 
Nesting.—Nest: on the ground, a mound of gravel and rubbish with a slight 
depression on top, on beach or island of large lake. Eggs: 2-4, bluish white or 
pale buffy, often more or less stained, and with chalky deposit on surface. Av. 
size, 3.40% 2.25 (86.4x 57.2). Season: June. 
General Range.—* Temperate North America, north in the interior to about 
latitude 61°, south in winter to western Mexico and Guatemala; now rare or ac- 
cidental in the northeastern states; abundant in the interior and along the Gulf 
Coast ; common on the coast of California” (A. O. U.). 
Range in Washington.—Not common, and possibly non-breeding summer 
resident on the East-side; casual during migrations on Puget Sound. 
Authorities.—| Cooper and Suckley, p. 265. Not a valid Washington record. | 
Rhoads, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1893, p. 31. T. D!. B. E. 
Specimens.—(U. of W.) Prov. 
IT need not be supposed that these ponderous fowls, the largest of 
water birds by avoirdupois, are to be set down as awkward simply because 
they have big bills. Viewed at a distance, as they rest on shore or near 
some low mud island, their stately ranks present an impressive spectacle. 
In flight they are calm, almost majestic; and their white plumage, set off 
by black wing-tips, makes a fine showing in the morning sun. They sit 
the water almost as gracefully as swans and “tip” in a dignified way, 
immersing the entire head and neck 
again much after the fashion of 
