136 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



IHF. NESTS ARH; ROUIiH STKUCIUREo OF REEUS, 

 AND RUBBISH. 



most forcibly the- strange attachmt-nt which this 

 spot possesseil tor the birds, was fraught with 

 new dangers, as when in 1885, and doubtless in 

 other years, high tides overflowed the island and 

 washed away eggs by the hundred. Still the 

 brave pelicans stick to their island, and as we 

 shall see, their perseverance has at last received 

 its reward. 



We find it to be a pelican island indeed, ior 

 excepting a grass-covered marshy area, the 

 ground is hidden beneath a vast crowd of birds, 

 all watching us as our boat draws near, heads 

 held liigh and huge beaks 

 ])ointing downward — pelican- 

 fashion. 



Wading ashore, every step 

 sends up a fresh cloud of birds, 

 their long pinions making a 

 noise as of a great wind ; nm\ 

 reflecting the sunlight fmni 

 their silvery backs and wings, 

 now showing almost black 

 against the sky as the dark choc- 

 olate breasts are turned toward 

 us. The pelicans are remark- 

 ably fearless and remain on 

 their nests until we are witliin 

 fifty feet. As we walk through 

 the heart of the colony we are 

 the centre of a ciicular area 

 about a hundred feet in dia- 

 meter, free of adult birds. 



The nests covering the 

 ground are two or three feet 

 apart, and are rouglj structures. 



]>iles of sticks, reeds, dried grass 

 and rubbish, with now and then 

 portions of bleached fish and 

 pelican skeletons. The nesting 

 period must extend over a con- 

 siilerable time, as we find fresh 

 eggs, others ready to hatch, and 

 young in all stages of growth. 

 There are scores upon scores of 

 eggs, rough and chalky in ap- 

 jiearance and measuring two by 

 three inches. Three is the 

 usual number in a nest, although 

 in many there are one. two and 

 f lur, and in several as many as 

 five. Dozens of eggs lie strewn 

 about, some in the water, some 

 which have just rolled from the 

 nests. 



Two seems the almost invari- 

 able number ot voung which 

 are hatched in any one nest. 

 STICKS We find that it is better not to 



remain long in one spot as the re- 

 cently hatched young birds suffer 

 from the heat. When we move ahead some dis- 

 tance, the old birds promptly return, either to 

 squat down and brood the eggs, or, if these have 

 just hatched, to stand upright on the sunny side 

 of the nest so that a cool shadow falls across the 

 young birds. We assist one youngster out of his 

 shell and within four minutes one of his parents 

 returns and gazes at her offspring with interest, 

 nay, let us say, with sincere maternal solicitude. 

 We almost wonder that the sight does not arouse 

 feelings of disgust or at least dismay, but faith 

 must indeed be strong in a pelican's breast to 



^EEM I'HK NT.MBKR INVARIABLY HATCHEIl. 



