Ge6 THE AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN. 
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. Adult in winter: Similar but without 
horny protuberance on bill; the occipital crest wanting; yellow coloring of chest 
and wing-coverts paler; 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.—Not known to have bred in Ohio. Nest, on the ground, a mound 
ef 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 x 2.25 (86.4 x 57.2). 
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. 
Range in Ohio.—Casual migrant; seen on Lake Erie and the reservoirs. 
THE appearance of a large white bird ‘*bigger than a goose,’ anywhere 
upon our interior waters, is a signal for immediate pursuit by boat and gun. 
Not infrequently it turns out to be a Pelican, and the guileless creature is 
promptly mummified and placed where he may regard you gravely from some 
shop-keeper’s window—for the museums are already full. A handsome speci- 
men was taken on the Licking Reservoir about May 15th, 1902, and preserved 
in a local club room, but it was lost in a fire the following winter. In the 
spring of 1903, three were seen upon the same reservoir, but none secured. 
The Pelican lives upon an exclusive diet of fish, and he uses his great 
eular pouch as a dip-net, or scoop, rather than as a creel for transportation, 
as was formerly supposed. It sometimes happens, however, that the bird 
makes a greater catch than he can conveniently handle, or indeed, greater than 
he has time to swallow during the rush of a successful drive. In either case 
he retires to shore with a full basket to effect a readjustment, or to discard a 
clearly proven surplus. 
In flight the Pelicans usually follow a leader in line, and flap or sail or 
settle in unison at his behest. In the West and South, where they are much 
more abundant, they are sometimes seen performing aerial evolutions, which 
are very interesting and impressive to the beholder. 
