PELECANID^E — THE PELICANS — PELECANUS. 



135 



iidiilt binls, both in winter and summer, though much paler in the former season. The hhick 

 uIouk the h)\ver edge of tlie mandible nml tiie wjuiuisli sjiot on its side are not infmiui-ntly 

 iiitiiely absent. The maxillary excrescenee varies greatly both in size and sliajie. FreiiUfhlly 

 it consists of a single piece, nearly as liigh as long, its vertical outlines almost parallel, and the 

 iiIiiHT outline quite regularly convex, the largest specimen seen Ix'ing about three inches liigh, 

 by as many in lengtli. More frwpiently, however, it is veiy irregular in shape, usually less 

 elevated, and not infreipiently with ragged anterior, or even posterior, continuations. This ex- 

 crescence, which is assumed gradually in the spring, reaches its jjcrlect development in the pairing 

 season, and is dropped before or soon tifU'V the young are hatched ; simultaneously with the shed- 

 ding of this appendage the nuclial crest falls olf, and in its jilace a patch of short brownish gray 

 feathers appeal's ; this disappears with the fall moult, when the occiput is entirely unadorned, there 

 being neither crest nor colored patch. 



Tlio American White I'elican ocoirs nearly tlirougliout North Amorica, from 

 Panama to tlio more extreme northern regions. Although found in largt^ munbers in 

 the Fur Country, as well as in the region beyond the Rocky Mountains, it is quite 

 rare on the eastern coast, as well as in the interior between tlie Atlantic and tlie 

 I{()(^ky Mountains. Only a few stragglers are met with — and that irri'gularly and 

 by accident- — excejjt on the Ohio and the Mississippi, where their visits, though 

 irregular, are more frequent. 



Cai)tain IJIakiston met with this species on the Saskatchewan, and Mr. Murray 

 rcjiorts having received one specimen from the Hudson's Hay Kegion. The former 

 states that tlie Grand Rapid, at the mouth of the .Saskatchewan, is a favorite resort. 

 .Mr. Tx'rnard Ross also found it frequenting the Mackenzie River. 



Ilcarne ("Journey to the Northern Ocean,'' ]>. AIV>\) speaks of this species as being 

 numerous in the interior part of the country, but never appearing near the sea-coast. 

 It is said generally to frequent large lakes, and always to make its nest on islands. 

 Tlu'se birds are so provident for their young that great quantities of fish lie rotting 

 near their nests, and emit such a stench as to be noticed at a considerable distance. 

 Tli(* young are frec^uently eaten by the Indians ; and great quantities of their fat are 

 melted down and preserved in bladders for winter use, to be mixed with pounded 

 flesli ; but this in time becomes very rank. The skin of this bird, which is thick and 

 tougli, is frequently dressed by the Indians, and converted into bags, but never into 

 clothing. 



This si)ecies is mentioned by Sir John Richardson as being numerous in the inte- 

 rior of tlie Fur Country, up to lat. 61° ; but he says tliat it seldom comes within 

 two hundred miles of Hudson's Bay. It usually deposits its eggs on small rocky 

 islinuls on the brink of cascades, where it is almost entirely secure from approatih ; 

 but otherwise it is by no means shy. It flies low and heavily, usually in flocks of 

 from six to fourteen, sometimes abreast, at other times in an oblique line. It is 

 often known to pass close over a building, or within a few yards of a jiarty of men, 

 without exhibiting any signs of fear. It haunts eddies under waterfalls, and devours 

 great quantities of fish. When gorged with food it dozes on the water, and may then 

 be easily captured, as it takes wing at such times only with great difficulty. It may 

 be most generally seen either on the Aving or swimming. 



There are quite a number of well-attested instances of the occurrence of this 

 species in different parts of the Provinces, of New England, and of the interior of New 

 York. W. J. Real (" Naturalist," I. 323) states that in the spring of 1874 a pair 

 of these birds visited the marshes of Cayuga Lake, one of which — a female — was 

 killed. The hunters had never seen anything of the kind about there before. In the 

 stomach were found two of the common Pomotis .and the remains of two Bull-heads, 



