PELICAN ISLAND 95 



Before the appointment of a warden the presence of 

 visitors on Pelican Island proved extremely disastrous to 

 the young of the ground nesting birds. In close huddled 

 flocks they were driven from their nests to which doubtless 

 some birds failed to return, while others died from over- 

 exertion. This source of danger can now be prevented but 

 floods cannot be so readily controlled and at intervals the 

 Pelicans must be expected to afford fatal proof of the com- 

 parative insecurity of a ground-nesting site. 



The Ceremony of Nest Relief 



The Eggs. Birds of the tropics as a rule lay a smaller 

 number of eggs than their northern representatives ; but the 

 White Pelican of Saskatchewan and the Brown Pelican of 

 Florida each lay three eggs. On Pelican Island the eggs are 

 generally laid by December 1, and hatch four weeks later. 



Brown Pelicans do not differ in color sexually. It is im- 

 possible therefore to determine by external appearance the 

 sex of the sitting bird. Observation from a blind, however, 

 reveals the fact that both sexes incubate, the change of 

 places being usually preceded by an interesting little per- 

 formance which I have called the Ceremony of Nest Belief. 



