THE SPOTTED-BILLED PELICAN. 237 



dark brown; secondaries and tertiaries brown, tinged with ashy on the 

 outer webs ; the whole back white ; rump, upper tail-coverts and flanks 

 white, with delicate brown shaft-streaks ; tail dark brown, with the base 

 white; lower plumage whity brown, each feather being white with the 

 tip brownish ; the feathers close, dense and soft. 



In June of the third year, or when the bird is about thirty months 

 old, the moult into adult breeding-plumage is commenced and the change 

 is entirely effected by October, except that in this first breeding-season 

 the wing-coverts never become entirely white as in the old bird, the 

 feathers of these parts being a mixture of long sharp-pointed white feathers 

 and brown, comparatively blunt, brown ones. Between June and October 

 the pouch, which has hitherto been spotless, becomes blotched with livid 

 as in the adult, the blotches extending to the face ; the legs turn to dark 

 brown ; the iris becomes paler brown ; and the spots on the bill become firm 

 and well defined. 



Adult in breeding-plumage (September to February). Forehead, top 

 of head, crest and cheeks pure white, the bases of the feathers black, but 

 barely visible ; the hind neck, from the crest to the upper back, covered 

 by rather long, soft, greyish-brown feathers forming a mane ; remainder 

 of head and neck white, the feathers with black bases, showing out slightly ; 

 all the feathers curly, dense and very soft ; crest sharply pointed, 

 erect or falling forwards ; upper back and shoulders white, the feathers 

 sharply pointed; lower back, upper part of rump, and flanks rich vina- 

 ceous, the shafts hair-brown ; lower part of rump pure white, the feathers 

 falling over the upper tail-coverts, which are also pure white but with 

 very conspicuous black shafts ; tail ashy, with dark-brown shafts ; upper 

 scapulars narrow and finely pointed, white with black shafts ; lower sca- 

 pulars broad and rounded, ashy with black shafts; tertiaries more or 

 less white 011 inner webs and more or less ashy on the outer webs ; secon- 

 daries brown, tinged with ashy on the outer webs ; primaries very dark 

 uniform brown ; wiriglet and primary -co verts dark brown : coverts over 

 secondaries lesser coverts very finely pointed and narrow, white tinged 

 with yellow ; median coverts also sharply pointed, white with black shafts ; 

 greater coverts rounded, brown on terminal half of outer and terminal 

 third of inner webs, bases white ; the median coverts as long as, or longer 

 than, greater coverts and partially concealing them : coverts over ter- 

 tiaries lesser white ; median vinaceous ; greater pale ashy : under 

 coverts of tertiaries totally vinaceous ; those of the primaries and secon- 

 daries white, splashed in places with vinaceous; lower neck in front, 

 breast and sides of body white tinged with yellow, all the feathers rather 

 rigid and very sharp -pointed ; abdomen from breast to vent white, the 

 feathers soft and rounded ; feathers below vent sharp-pointed, vinaceous ; 

 under tail-coverts ample, soft, vinaceous with dark shafts. 



