The White Pelican 



Taken in Riverside County 



WHITE PELICANS OVER SALTON SEA 



Photo by the Author 



The Pelican lives upon an exclusive diet of fish, and he uses his great 

 gular pouch as a dip-net, or scoop, rather than as a creel for transporta- 

 tion, as was formerly supposed. He prefers little fish to big ones; and, 

 indeed, the big fish rarely come his way, for he does not plunge from 

 midair, after the fashion of his brown cousin, P. o. californicus. After a 

 successful haul, the fisher bird raises his head, contracts the bellying net, 

 or pouch, ejects the water, and swallows the catch. It sometimes happens 

 that the bird makes a greater catch than he can handle, or, at least, 

 greater than he has time to swallow during the rush of a successful drive. 

 In this case he retires to shore with a full basket to effect a readjustment 

 or to discard a clearly proven surplus. 



The fish are carried in the crop, and the young are fed during infancy 

 by regurgitation. As they advance in age, however, they are allowed to 

 thrust their greedy beaks down the parental gullet and help themselves 

 to findings — a most shocking procedure. 



At nesting time the Pelicans resort in large numbers to islands, 

 whether low-lying or more rugged, in the larger lakes; less frequently 

 to shoals or tule barrens in overflowed areas. Not alone because of per- 

 secution, but because of fluctuation in the water supply, these nestings 

 are subject to greater or less vicissitudes, and in some dry seasons are 



1965 



