Molina's Pelican (Pelecanus thagus) . 419 



mandibalar and gular organs as it possesses. In comparison 

 with the nimble, acrobatic, and splendidly adapted Gannet, 

 the Pelican appears a clumsy bird. Its aerial displays, 

 however^ by their grace and achievement, recover for it any 

 prestige lost in the ungainly manner o£ its feeding. Molina's 

 Pelican will often — if not habitually — continue its aerial 

 search for food till so long after dusk that it is difficult to 

 follow its movements^ diving five or six times in as many 

 minutes and rarely being unsuccessful. After they have at 

 last roosted — and the decision where they can spend the 

 night most comfortably takes a long time to arrive at^ for 

 they will try half-a-dozen spots before settling finally — they 

 will frequently^ on either observing a commotion of the sea 

 surface, or catching some signal understanded of them 

 that a shoal of fish is in the vicinity, hurriedly sally out 

 again in a throng and vigorously fall upon it. Their great 

 bodies, magnified in the half-light, against the long-lasting 

 clear belt of light athwart the western horizon, look like so 

 many untidy sacks hurtling through the air into the sea. 

 When at last "Little Mary'' reports that sufficient has been 

 laid in against the night, the birds flap their majestic way 

 home again, in long files ; or they may change their mind, 

 and bear away to some distant island or rock to spend the 

 night free from "alarums," or danger to their repletion. 



Molina's Pelican is a good bit of a sneak also. Often it 

 may be seen buoyantly riding, apparently asleep, on the 

 water near the shore, till perhaps a " Cuervo de Mar " 

 {Phalacrocorax vigua) unexpectedly pops up within sight of 

 it, from under the surface, with a captured eel in its beak. 

 The "alcatraz" is instantly alert, and by the '^ crow's" side in 

 a few moments, and. if the latter has not got a completely 

 manageable hold — often the case — on its slippery prey, 

 the former will snatch it from its neighbour's mouth and 

 dispose of it instantly and comfortably in its capacious 

 carpet-bag. By such mean manners the Pelican obtains 

 quite a deal of its supplies — or at least a considerable 

 unearned increment to them. 



After all, Molina's Pelican is a splendid and attractive 



