PELICANS 39 



Creek and another, October 24, 1892, at Florence. The species 

 is reported also from Autaugaville by L. S. Golsan, where a 

 flock of 7 was seen on a mill pond, July 31, 1909. 



Four specimens from Alabama, all referable to the northern 

 form, are in the Biological Survey collection — one from Per- 

 dido Bay, taken January 26, 1912; two from Mobile, Novem- 

 ber 10, 1915; and one from Grand Bay, November 13, 1915, 

 The occurrence of the Florida cormorant (Phalucrocorax a. 

 floridanus) in the State is problematical. 



General habits. — This species breeds in colonies, in the 

 South usually in dense cypress swamps, the nests being placed 

 near the tops of tall trees. The rookery is often shared by 

 great blue herons or other species of similar habits. In win- 

 ter cormorants gather in large flocks in the coastal waters 

 of Alabama and feed around the shores of the outer islands. 

 They are strong swimmers and procure their food of fishes 

 entirely by pursuing them beneath the surface, never by 

 diving. 



Food habits. — Cormorants feed exclusively on fish; stom- 

 achs of two collected in the Mobile River each contained re- 

 mains of two gizzard shad (Dorosoma eepedianum) about 10 

 inches long, and one stomach contained, also, part of the tail 

 of an eel. 



PELICANS: Family Peleeanidae. 



WHITE PELICAN: Pelecanus erythrm^hynchos Gmelin. 



Sta^te records. — The white pelican occurs regularly in some 

 numbers in Alabama in migration and in winter. Dr. W. C. 

 Avery records the capture of a specimen at Livingstone about 

 1890.* F. R. King, of Leighton, has a mounted specimen 

 taken at that place, October 9, 1895, and Mrs. B. R. Samuel, 

 of Guntersville, has one captured in October, 1909, at Muscle 

 Shoals. Amel Calloway reports seeing a flock of eight or 

 nine birds in Perdido Bay in January, 1912. In Mississippi 

 Sound, March 22, 1912, I saw a flock of about seventy-five 

 on a sand bar off Grande Batture Island and about ten on 

 the west point of Dauphin Island. These birds were reported 



*Amer. Field, vol. 40, p. 7, 1893. 



