WHERE THE PELICAN BUILDS 



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group of Chestnut-breasted Shieldrakes [Casarca 

 tadornoides] , sunning themselves on a sand spit, made 

 a charming picture. Black Cormorants [Phalacro- 

 corax carbo] were abundant. Several nests of the 

 species, built in dead bushes, had been noticed on Jack's 



PELICANS AT THE ZOO. 



Point Island. We stopped near a beach strewn with 

 rose-tinted shells to admire a flock of Red-necked 

 Avocets [Recurvirostra rubricollis] , which stood knee 

 deep in the water. Presently the birds divided into 

 small companies, and began to wade slowly, dipping 

 long beaks beneath the surface to slide them through 

 the ooze in quest of food. We could not detect a 

 leader, nor were any vocal commands given, yet the 

 Avocets conducted their foraging in an orderly 



