BROWN PELICAN 



with white on the sides, some yellow at base of 

 foreneck. Bill grayish mottled with brown and 

 tinged with red; pouch greenish, bare skin 

 around eyes blue; feet black. 



Young. General color brownish gray, head 

 with a conspicuous flattened crest which is not 

 present in adults. 



The young appear to be larger than the adults 

 and are often taken by the casual observer for 

 another species. The plumage of the adults is 

 subject to seasonal changes, the fresh plumage 

 following the moulting period differing somewhat 

 from the worn plumage preceding it. 



For so large a bird the pelican is very abundant 

 in the Canal Zone. It is likely to be the first 

 bird seen on entering the harbor of Cristobal, as 

 it often occurs on Gatun Lake, but it is on 

 Panama Bay that it is especially numerous. It 

 breeds in large numbers on some of the Pearl 

 Islands and probably also on some of the nearer 

 islands of the Bay. It nests during the winter 

 months; the colonies on different islands at more 

 or less different times. On Pedro Gonzales, one 

 hot calm afternoon in February, several on 

 nests presented an appearance most ludicrous 

 and pathetic, their bills open, the hot sun beating 

 down on them. When the fish are running at 

 the turn of the tide at the Pacific entrance of the 

 Canal, the sea is white with splashes of the peli- 

 cans plunging after their prey. Sometimes they 

 disappear completely under the water; again 

 they float near the shores for hours, alone or 

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