PELICAN ISLAND 213 



sticks, shells, and weeds ; then dropping the point of 

 his bill downward so that the mud and water ooze 

 out, he carefully examines the remainder, piece by- 

 piece, as if to see whether it is palatable. Even 

 when alone he sometimes loses his temper. I saw 

 one evidently much annoyed by the appearance of a 

 displaced feather in his wing, and in a vain effort to 

 catch it he whirled about like a kitten chasing its 

 own tail. 



But the fast-growing wing plumes soon seem to 

 be a source of inspiration, rather than of annoyance. 

 The young Pelicans feel a new and strange power 

 coming to them, and they stand in the nest and aim- 

 lessly wave their now nearly grown wings, until 

 some day an impulse prompts them to spring into 

 the air.'^" The immediate result is a humiliating 

 tumble, for Pelicans, unlike smaller birds, must 

 learn to fly. Once on the ground he has a safer 

 place to practice, and with a hop, skip, and a flap, 

 he makes brave efforts to mount skyward. Finally 

 he succeeds, and the awkward nestling becomes a 

 creature of power and grace, sailing away on broad 

 pinions to join its elders. 



With this wonderful gift of flight comes a com- 

 plete change in the Pelican's character and behavior. 

 From a noisy, quarrelsome fledgeling, whose days 

 were passed in screaming and squabbling, he is 

 transformed into a dignified, patriarchal -like bird 

 so absolutely voiceless that I have never heard a 

 wild Pelican utter a sound, nor do I know of any 

 one who has; while in disposition he has become so 

 peaceful that under the strongest provocation he 

 shows no desire to protest. 



