54 BIRDS 



at various heights above the surface of the water. The 

 cormorants frequent the same locality from year to year, 

 and experience considerable difficulty in constructing their 

 nests because of the gulls, which frequently carry away 

 the material as fast as it can be gathered. The young, 

 when first hatched, are entirelj^ devoid of plumage, and 

 their skin resembles a "greasy, black kid glove." It is 

 said that the gulls feed upon these young birds. 



Mt. Frank M. Woodruff relates the following obser- 

 vations, made during a recent trip to California. He says: 



" The Brandt's cormorant is the common species win- 

 tering in southern California. Like the California brown 

 pelican and the surf ducks, only the juvenile birds are 

 found in the bay close to the city of San Diego. The 

 birds are perfect gluttons, and as I lifted it into the boat 

 there dropped from the gular sack of one specimen that 

 I shot over twenty small fish. The beautiful iridescence 

 of the dark copper-green plumage of the adult cormorant 

 can only be appreciated when the freshly killed bird is 

 seen." Seth Mind'svell. 



WHITE PELICAN 



This bird is common to entire temperate North Amer- 

 ica. It is one of the largest of our waterfowl, inhabiting 

 both fresh and salt water. Like the brown pelican, this 

 species is decidedly gregarious. Professor Jones says: 

 "The birds travel sixty miles to catch fish for themselves 

 and young. They often vomit up the contents of their 

 stomachs on the ground, where it quickly decays." The 

 stench of the rookeries is almost intolerable. 



