806 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



No. I— PELICANS BREEDING IN INDIA. 



As Blanford says tbat "of late years no authentic account of Pelicans 

 breeding in India has appeared" (vide p. 336, Vol. IV, Birds, Fauna of British 

 India), I consider I am extremely fortunate in having discovered a place in 

 South India, where the Spotted-billed or Grey Pelican (Pelicanus philippensis) 

 breeds regularly. As I have no doubt this will interest some of our members, 

 I send an account of my experience. 



I heard of the place quite by accident. My informant told me that there 

 was a place close to where I was encamped, where Pelicans and several other 

 kinds of birds built on trees in the middle of a village. 



I had often come across places in the Kurnool, Vizagapatam, and other 

 Districts, where colonies of Storks, Egrets and Herons built on trees in and 

 around villages ; so was a bit doubtful as to whether my informant was not 

 mistaking one of the larger Storks for a Pelican. The village was not 

 far off my line of march and I determined to pay it a. visit. I am glad I 

 did so. 



The name of the village is Kundakolam in the Nanguneri Taluq, which is in 

 the extreme south of the Tinnevelly District. I got to the village at about 9 a.m. 

 and I shall never forget the sight ! There were about a dozen large-sized 

 tamarind trees in different parts of the village, and each tree was as full as 

 it could hold of nests and birds. The leaves of the trees were stained white 

 with the droppings of the birds and presented a very strange appearance. I 

 visited the place at a very good time (8th June) for all the young birds were 

 fully fledged and were able to come out of their nests. There were birds in all 

 stages of immaturity, and I had no difficulty in examining them through a pair 

 of field glasses. The villagers told me that several varieties of birds built 

 there ; the \oung of the smaller kinds however had grown up and had left 

 their nests for good. There were only two kinds left — the Spotted-Billed 

 Pelican and the Painted Stork (Pseudotantalus leucocephalus). From the 

 vernacular names of the other birds referred to by the villagers, I recognized 

 the Pond Heron (A rdeola grayi), the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus) and 

 the Night Heron ( Nycticorax griseus). 



To return to the Pelicans and Storks, it was very amusing watching the 

 young birds — especially the young Pelicans. There were little babelets whose 

 only object in life appeared to be to prevent their huge bills overbalancing 

 them ; then there were great hobble-di-hoys who seemed to think it no end of 

 fun opening their bills windwards and allowing the wind to bulge out their 

 ■almon-coloured pouches. There were also birds who had just learnt to fly 

 and they kept on making trial trips from one tree to another and back again. 

 The young of the Painted Stork may be a pretty bird with his pencilled 

 plumage, but he is a noisy brute and seems to spend most of his time trying 

 to let every one for miles around know how hungry he is. 



