26 PELECANID^ PBLECANU8 



Iris deep hazel red ; bare skin of the face purplish-white ; base 

 of the upper and lower mandibles pale purplish-white, the midrib 

 paler at the base, darker in the middle, shading to greyish-pink at 

 the nail, sides of the upper mandible pale gamboge yellow with 

 streaks of light red radiating from the edge, which is uniform bright 

 red; terminal half of the lower mandible pale greyish - yellow ; 

 pouch gamboge yellow; legs pale pinkish straw -yellow ; webs 

 greyish-yellow. 



Length 67-0 ; wing 27-5 ; tail 8-0 ; culmen 16'5 ; tarsus 4-5. 

 The female has a much longer occipital crest measuring four or five 

 inches and is smaller than the male, length about 59-0 ; wing 260 ; 

 culmen 13'0. 



The nestling is covered with brown down throughout; the bill, 

 pouch and naked skin are darker brown and the legs bluish pink. 



Distribution. — This Pelican, closely allied to the true White 

 Pelican {P onocrotalus) found in Southern Europe, from which it 

 only differs in its smaller size, shorter bill and tail composed of 

 twenty-two instead of twenty-four feathers, is found in Southern 

 Asia as far as the Philippine Islands, in Africa and occasionally in 

 South-east Europe. 



In South Africa this Pelican is chiefly found along the coast ; it 

 has also been met with in the Lake Ngami region in Bechuanaland, 

 and on the lower Zambesi, but not, so far as I am aware, at other 

 places in the interior. 



The following are recorded localities : Walvisch Bay and Sand- 

 wich Harbour (Andersson) ; Lake Ngami, August (Fleck) ; Botletli 

 Eiver (Bryden) ; Salt River near Cape Town (S. A. Mus.) ; Quoin 

 Eock near Quoin Point in Caledon district, breeding December 

 and January ( W. L. Sclater) ; Zoetendal vlei (Layard) ; Knysna 

 (Victorin) ; St. Lucia Lake in Zululand (Woodward) ; lower 

 Zambesi (Alexander). 



Habits. — The best account of the habits of the Pelican in South 

 Africa is that given by Bryden, who met with these birds in con- 

 siderable numbers on the Botletli River. He found that they 

 roosted among the reeds at night, and after fishing for their morning 

 meal betook themselves with wonderful aerial evolutions to a 

 neighbouring salt-pan, where they remained during the day, returning 

 to the river-bed towards evening. 



Pelicans are found along the sea coasts, and in the interior only 

 along the larger rivers and in marshes where there is a plentiful 

 supply of fish, on which they feed exclusively ; they iiy well with 



