OUR INDIAN PELICANS. 495 
way through the rush clumps, till we were within about 
120 yards. By this time cautiously as we had been stealing 
along they had observed us, and had all risen on their feet, 
standing as we then found on a low grassy island only a few 
inches above the level of the water. One or two rose heavily; 
a@ moment afterwards the whole vast flock, the largest I have 
ever seen in my life, rose as one mass. I had in my hand a 
heavy double-barrelled gun with two 2oz. green 8S. G. wire: 
cartridges, and 44drs. of powder. I fired both _ barrels 
instantly into the thick. At the moment I fired we were 
as nearly as I could afterwards make out distant 100 
yards from the nearest birds, but I dropped — seven, 
aggregating at least 120lbs. in weight, the heaviest bag of birds 
I ever yet made with shot in one right and left. Two 
were quite dead; two shortly afterwards gave up the ghost 5 
three were only winged, and before we had picked up and 
attended to the four dead ones, had swum out of sight behind 
the innumerable bands and clumps of high reeds, with which 
the whole surface of the lake is thickly studded. Sending 
home the four dead birds in the heavy luncheon boat which had 
come up, we started again in the little boat, and soon caught 
sight of one of the winged birds, but the wind had now come: 
on to blow ; the boat was not a fleet 8-oar, but a clumsy, though 
small, square-ended fishing punt, and the Pelican swam like a 
steamer. All that could be done was to fire long shots at 
him (I had no rifle with me as it happened) with a long single- 
barrelled duck gun and S. G. cartridge, in the hope, in nauti- 
cal phrase, of carrying away some of his spars; but it was: 
all-in vain. The chase drew steadily away, and in less than two: 
hours we were nowhere ; the evening was drawing on, and we 
turned homewards, having a couple of miles through reed and: 
water to reach the landing place. When about half way, and 
close to where the first shot was fired, another of the wounded 
Pelicans suddenly hove in sight, sailing out from behind a 
clump or reed not twenty yards in front of us, and he was: 
instantly knocked over. Next day early I returned to the lake, 
and’ with a_ better boat found' hunted’ down, and saved, as the: 
Americans would phrase it, the remaining two birds. 
Now the curious thing was this: the seven birds consisted: 
of one quite young onocrotalus, one onocrotalus exactly as: 
described’ by Jerdon, one bird very like his mitratus, 
but rather larger in actual length than the dimensions he: 
assigns to that species (but his linear dimensions were avowedly 
taken from a dried skin), and four birds exactly answering to 
his javanicus, except a slight excess in total length (due again 
probably from his measurements being taken from a dried! 
skin). 
