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POPULAR OFFICIAL GUIDE. 



BROWN AND WHITE PELICANS. 



the following species in Central and South America, to their 

 most remote haunts, sometimes even at the risk of their 

 lives. Fashion has decreed that the egrets must go. 



The American Egret, {Herodias egretta). — Much to the 

 misfortune of this species, it possesses' about fifty "aigrette" 

 plumes which droop in graceful curves from the middle of 

 its back far beyond the tail and wing tips. For these beau- 

 tiful feathers this bird has been pursued by plume hunters 

 almost to the point of total extermination in the United 

 States. 



The White Pelican, (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) , is one of 

 the largest birds of North America and by reason of its 

 size, its pure white plumage, its enormously long amber- 

 colored bill and gular pouch, it is one of the most showy 

 birds in the aviary. As consumers of fish they stand pre- 

 eminent among birds, and their only rivals in the Park are 

 the sea-lions. The specimens exhibited were collected for the 

 Society in southern Texas. 



The Brown Pelican, (Pelecanus occidentalis), when adult, 

 is a handsome and showy bird, and one which not only is 

 easily reconciled to life in a comfortable aviary, but posi- 

 tively enjoys it. The specimens in our collection were col- 

 lected for the Society on Pelican Island. Florida, and their 

 interesting home life at that place may be studied from the 

 series of photographs on exhibition in the Aquatic Bird 

 House. When their daily allowance of fish appears they 



