lO 



Bird - Lore 



the Pelican's domestic affairs were four months behind the birds of the 

 Atlantic. In the five breeding colonies of Pelicans found on the Gulf Coast, 

 not one of them furnished the sight of young birds in April. 



On the coast and its immediate neighborhood, Louisiana Herons were 

 abundant, and, in fact, they were far more numerous than all the other 

 Herons combined. Several large nesting places were discovered. In Gas- 

 parilla Sound are two keys which, at the date visited, must have each held 

 i,ooo or 1,200 nests. Three other populous rookeries of these birds were 

 found among the Ten Thousand Islands. 



Unfortunately, the bird laws of Florida are but slightly enforced, 

 although several professional hunters stated that the presence of Guy Bradley 

 in the Cape Sable region had prevented them from operating in that terri- 

 tory. The colonies are constantly raided for their eggs. A negro fisherman 

 told me that cake made with Pelican eggs "has shure made fine eating." 

 Cormorants are shot in great numbers for food. Plume-hunting on a large 

 scale is no longer profitable, owing to the scarcity of plume-birds. Egrets 

 and Snowy Herons are now so scarce in the sections visited that not over a 

 dozen individuals were seen during the six weeks of field observations. 



NEST AND EGGS OF SANDHILL CRANE 



