THE WHITE PELICAN 379 



the parents, indicates a surprising lack of parental solici- 

 tude. Had the old birds shown half the spirit of a Catbird 

 or Robin, an invasion of their homes would have been a ser- 

 ious affair ; but their haste to make good their own escape 

 gave us no opportunity to cultivate their acquaintance. It 

 was observed, however, that no birds still wore the knob on 

 the bill, while the number of these appendages scattered 

 about the island showed that many had been shed. 



Our discovery of eight colonies or settlements of Peli- 

 cans on Anahao Island, where Ridgway found but one, indi- 

 cates an increase in the Pelican population during a period 

 when most of the larger birds of America have diminished 

 in numbers. White Pelicans, which invariably vanish when 

 man appears, have evidently, therefore, found a congenial 

 retreat on Pyramid Lake, and in view of the remoteness and 

 aridity of the region, one might imagine that they will long 

 continue to exist there without molestation. But, alas ! civi- 

 lization in a form most fatal to certain species of birds, is 

 undermining their stronghold. 



Aside from local drainage, the Truckee River is the sole 

 water supply of Pyramid Lake and its sister, Winnemucca 

 Lake. A Government Reclamation Service Project, already 

 well advanced, taps the Truckee on its way from Lake 

 Tahoe down the eastern slope of the Sierras, in order to 

 irrigate the Carson Valley. So much water will betaken 

 that only enough will be left t<> supply one of the two lakes 

 the Truckee feeds. Winnemucca is the fortunate one 

 while beautiful Pyramid Lake is doomed to slow death by 

 evaporation. As increasing alkalinity kills the delicious 

 trout which now abound in it, the Pelicans will be robbed of 

 their food. For a time they may fish in Winnemucca, but 

 eventually the shoaling waters will connect their island with 

 the mainland, and when the requisite insular protection dis- 

 appears, the Pelicans must seek another island home. 



Sadly enough, the same fate awaits the Pelicans which 

 three years later (June 30-June 7, 1007), I visited on Lower 



