American White Pelican 29 
Description.—Adult—Plumage white throughout, except for the 
primaries, their coverts, and some of the secondaries, which are black ; 
some elongated feathers on the occiput, breast and lesser wing-coverts 
straw-yellow; tail with twenty-four feathers; iris pearl-white, bill, 
which bears a horny excrescence on the culmen, orange-red with 
the ridge of the culmen whitish; bare skin, about the eye, gular 
pouch and feet orange. Length 60:0; wing 24:0; tail 6:0; culmen 
12:0; tarsus 4°5. 
After the breeding season the excrescence is lost, and the crest 
is replaced by a dusky spot. In winter the occiput is white and the 
bill, pouch and feet are yellow not orange. Young birds are like the 
winter adults, but have a little grey on the top of the head and on the 
lesser coverts. 
Distribution.—Breeding chiefly in the western interior of North 
America, from Oregon and Utah north to Hudson Bay; in winter 
south to the Gulf of California and Mexican coasts as far as Guatemala. 
The Pelican was formerly not uncommon on migration, while a 
few are said to have bred in Colorado. Of late years, no doubt owing 
to increase of population, it has been less often seen, nor have I met 
with any undoubted account of its nesting within the State. 
It arrives from the south at the end of April, and has been noticed 
by W. G. Smith at Loveland on the 23rd of that month. On May 22nd, 
1898, nine out of a flock of eighteen were killed on Prospect Lake on 
the confines of Colorado Springs, and a flock of forty was seen near 
Denver in the spring of the same year. It is an irregular summer 
resident at Barr but not known to breed (Hersey & Rockwell). In 
the fall migration it appears to pass through the mountains, and has 
been observed by Carter at an elevation of 13,000 feet, and there 
is an example in his collection killed near Breckenridge, August 10th, 
1892. It is also recorded from San Luis Valley in October, and 
from Grand Junction on the western slope, where Mr. Sullivan saw 
a flock of eight, September 4th, 1904. 
Habits.—White Pelicans are found on the sea coasts 
and in the interior, chiefly along the larger rivers and 
in marshes where there is a plentiful supply of fish, 
on which they feed almost exclusively; they fly well 
with the neck bent and the head close to the shoulders, 
and often ascend to a great height in the air and there 
perform, wonderful aerial evolutions ; they also swim 
well and strongly, but are said not to be able to dive. 
They pursue their prey in considerable numbers in a 
