THE OOLOGIST 



lOI 



some minutes after the plunge. Their 

 prey which is swallowed whole and often 

 living, is frequently very large, and I have 

 seen mackerel at least eighteen inches long, 

 lying upon the rocks where they had been 

 disgorged. Although the Gannets are 

 heavy birds, they ride lightly upon the 

 water, as they are provided with large air 

 cells that are situated along their sides, be- 

 tween the skin and body, and can be 

 inflated at will. Bird Rock is the southern- 

 most breeding ground of this species on our 

 coast and probably the largest, for I esti- 

 mated that there were, at least, twenty 

 thousand Gannets nesting on the great and 

 les.ser rocks. They winter along the coast 

 from New Jersey to the Gulf of Mexico. — 

 From " Maynard's Birds of Eastern North 

 America." 



White Pelican. 



Pelecanus erythrorUynclius g. m. 

 I found the magnificent birds, which 

 form the subject of the present sketch, 

 quite common on Indian river in winter, 

 but they only occupy the limited section of 

 country which lies between the Haulover 

 Canal and Merritt's Island. The White 

 Pelicans were, however, remarkably abun- 

 dant on the Gulf coast about Cedar Keys, 

 but did not occur in any numbers much 

 south of this point. When feeding, these 

 fine Pelicans swim along the water and cap- 

 ture their prey b}^ thrusting their long bill, 

 and occasionally the entire head, beneath 

 the surface of the water, then the bill is 

 raised, the pouch contracted, forcing the 

 water from among the fishes which are 

 swallowed at once. During calm weather, 

 they feed in the open water of the Gulf but 

 when high winds occur, they visit the more 

 quiet lagoons and baj^ous among the flats. 

 After .satisfying their hvmger, they will .sit 

 for a time on the outer sand bars or reefs, 

 often githering by thousands, but will 

 shortly' rise in small companies, flying in 

 wedge-shaped flocks, or in ranks like geese 

 or swiins, but move with alternate flapping 

 and Siiiling and thus rise to a great height, 

 wlien tlicv will circle about an hour or 



more on motionless wings, not, however, in 

 regular order but crossing and recrossing 

 one another in eccentric gyrations. Later in 

 the day they return to roost, passing the 

 night on the reefs. They are very shy at 

 all times, equally so at night, for they can 

 see during the hours of darkness nearly or 

 quite as well as Owls, and when approached 

 will rise and fly to the nearest reef. The 

 only way in which I was successful in 

 obtaining a shot at them, was by sailing, 

 when, as they always rise into the wind, I 

 would sometimes manage to secure one. 

 These birds, in spite of their large size, 

 are exceedingly gentle in disposition and 

 easily tamed, and one that I brought north, 

 he having been slightly wounded in the 

 wing, remained with me for three years, 

 when he died. This bird never attempted 

 to injure any thing, even permitting young 

 chickens to run about him, and as they 

 walked over his huge feet, he merely 

 glanced down at them to see what they 

 wer-e doing. Johnny, as he was called, 

 was very intelligent and always knew those 

 who were kind to him, recognizing them 

 with a grunt, his only note, while he woitld 

 frequently take their hands in his long bill 

 and gently squeeze them. He allowed 

 every one who came to see him, to caress 

 him, and was always ready to receive 

 company. Johnny ate not only fish but 

 meat, and the quantity which he devoured 

 was surprising, for he often consumed six 

 or eight pounds at a meal. Not that he 

 was a glutton, for when he was satisfied, 

 no temptation would induce him to take 

 another morsel. His favorite method of 

 eating was to have his food thrown to him, 

 when he would catch it in his beak, slip it 

 into his pouch, then he would wait until I 

 grasped him by the bill, when I would 

 raise it and she ke his head until the food 

 passed downward into his stomach. No 

 confinement whatever was necessary for 

 Johnny as he never showed the slightest 

 propensity to wander, excepting in autumn, 

 when, having some idea of migrating, he 

 would waddle away from the liouse a few 

 hundred j'ards, then, evidently surp'-ised 

 to find himself on strange ground, would 



