PELECANUS PHILIPPIXENSIS. 



(THE GREY PELICAN.) 



Pelecanus philippinensis, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 571 (1878); Waklen, Trans. Zool. Soc. 1875, 



ix. p. 246. 

 Pelecanus philippensis (Gm.), Blyth, Cat. B. Mus. A. S. B. p. 297 (1849) ; Layard, Ann. & 



Mag. Nat. Hist. 1854, xiv. p. 271 ; Jerdon, B. of Ind. iii. p. 85S (1864); Holdsw. 



P. Z. S. 1872, p. 482 ; Hume, Nests and Eggs, iii. p. 658 (1875); David & Oust. Ois. 



de la Chine, p. 531 (1877) ; Hume, Str. Feath. 1878, p. 495 (B. of Tenass.) ; Oates, 



ibid. 1878, vii. p. 41 ; Hume, ibid. 1879, p. 116 (List B. of Ind.). 

 Pelecanus rufescens (Gm.), Elliot, P. Z. S. 1869, p. 583 (in part). 

 Pelican des Philippines, Buff. PL Enl. 965 ; Pelican, Europeans in Ceylon. IVon-bo, Arrakan 



(Blyth); Walang Jcadda, Java; Koolookcdai, Ceylonese Tamils (Layard). 

 Kula-kidar, Sinhalese. 



Ait ult female (March. Ceylon). Length 52-0 inches ; wing 20-5 : tail 8'5 ; tarsus 3*0; middle toe and claw 4 - 6 ; outer 

 toe and claw 4-2 ; bill at front (not including the nail) 11*0, gape to tip of nail (straight) 12-3, width of upper 

 mandible at the base 1-2, of lower at gape 2-2. 



Feathers of forehead forming a concave line at the base of the bill. 



Iris brown ; bill flesh}-, with bluish spots and oblique bars on either side of the culmen ; pouch and facial skin fleshy, 

 marked with dark veins and patches ; legs and feet bluish ; webs darker than the toes. 



feathers of the head and neck white with dark bases, of a fluffy character, and standing erect from the skin : a short 

 nuchal crest an inch long and slightly recurved ; interscapulary region, upper scapulars, wing-coverts, and under 

 surface white ; the wing-coverts lanceolate in shape, and the longer scapulars and greater coverts with black 

 shafts ; the back, flanks, and axillaries delicate vinaceous, the shafts darker than the webs on the back ; abdominal 

 region and under tail-coverts tinged with vinaceous ; underlying broad scapulars, tertials, greater secondary wing- 

 coverts, secondaries, and tail grey-brown, the feathers white at the base, those of the tail paling to whitish at 

 the margins : primaries and their coverts dark brown, white at the base ; upper tail-coverts white, with dark 

 shafts ; under wing white, the lesser series of feathers rosy grey or vinaceous ; under tertial coverts white. 



This specimen was shot from the nest, and is much soiled on the under surface ; the fluffy feathers end on the fore 

 neck about 5 inches from the pouch, up to which point the normal smooth feathers of the under surface reach. 



Tin" rosy tint is, I imagine, variable, being much more conspicuous in some specimens than in others, and in the non- 

 breeding season is absent. 



Young. The nestling is at first covered with white down. 



In first plumage the upper back and under surface, as also the neck, are brownish grey ; lower back and upper tail- 

 coverts whitish ; wing-coverts brown ; quills and tail dark brown. 

 Hill fleshy, the spots less plainly indicated than in the adult ; legs and feet bluish. 



06s. The Grey Pelican of India, to which Gmelin's name appears applicable, has been considered by some to be the 

 same as the African species, P. rufescens, Gm. Among those who have united the two birds are Schlegel, Elliot. 

 and ( i. K. ( rray ; while other high authorities, Mr. Selater, the Marquis of Tweeddale, and Mr. Hume, hold that the 

 Indian bird is distinct. I have examined the specimens of the latter bird in the British Museum and find that 

 t lie feathers of the head and neck are quite different, not partaking of that fluffy or furry nature which is eminently 

 characteristic of our bird ; the crest is altogether different, and the bill has none of the peculiar " impressed ' 

 spots, which are also a well-marked feature of P. philippinensis : it (the African species) is also larger and has a 

 longer bill than our bird. An adult specimen measures — wing 22-0 inches, bill (gape to base of nail) 12-2; an 

 immature example — wing 20 - .j, bill (gape to base of nail) 1 1-3. There appears, therefore, to be no question as to the 

 distinctness of the two species. Assuming that the Philippine bird is the same as the Indian, this species was 

 first described from Luzon from an example sent to Paris. 



Pelecanus javanicus, Horsf., the Lesser White Pelican of India, is white tinged with rosy ; the tail is white also, and 

 the primaries dusky grey. It is considerably larger than the Grey Pelican. Fifteen specimens tabulated by 

 Mr. Hume measure iu the wing from 230 to 26-75 inches; tarsus 4-25 to 5-5. 



