AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN. 23 



hostile species, that these creatures are urged to proceed towards wild and 

 uninhabited parts of the world, where they find that security from molesta- 

 tion necessary to enable them to rear their innocent progeny, but which is 

 now denied them in countries once their own. 



The White American Pelican never descends from on wing upon its prey, 

 as is the habit of the Brown Pelican; and, although on many occasions it 

 fishes in the manner above described, it varies its mode according to circum- 

 stances, such as a feeling of security, or the accidental meeting with shoals 

 of fishes in such shallows as the birds can well compass. They never dive 

 for their food, but only thrust their head into the waters as far as their neck 

 can reach, and withdraw it as soon as they have caught something, or have 

 missed it, for their head is seldom out of sight more than half a minute at a 

 time. When they are upon rivers, they usually feed along the margin of 

 the water, though, I believe, mostly in swimming depth, when they proceed 

 with greater celerity than when on the sand. While thus swimming, you 

 see their necks extended, with their upper mandible only above the water, 

 the lower being laterally extended, and ready to receive whatever fish or 

 other food may chance to come into the net-like apparatus attached to it. 



As this species is often seen along the sea shores searching for food, as 

 well as on fresh water, I will give you a description of its manners there. 

 While on the Island of Barataria in April 1837, I one afternoon observed a 

 number of White Pelicans swimming against the wind and current, with 

 their wings partially extended, and the neck stretched out, the upper man- 

 dible alone appearing above the surface, while the lower must have been used 

 as a scoop-net, as I saw it raised from time to time, and brought to meet the 

 upper, when the whole bill immediately fell to a perpendicular position, the 

 w T ater was allowed to run out, and the bill being again raised upwards, the 

 fish was swallowed. After thus swimming for about a hundred yards in an 

 extended line, and parallel to each other, they would rise on wing, wheel 

 about, and realight at the place where their fishing had commenced, when 

 they would repeat the same actions. I continued watching them more than 

 an hour, concealed among a large quantity of drifted logs, until their fishing 

 was finished, when they all flew off to the lee of another island, no doubt to 

 spend the night there, for these birds are altogether diurnal. When gorged, 

 they retire to the shores, to small islands in bays or rivers, or sit on logs 

 floating in shallow water, at a good distance from the beach; in all which 

 situations they are prone to lie down, or stand closely together. 



Being anxious, when on my last expedition, to procure several specimens 

 of these birds for the purpose of presenting you with an account of their 

 anatomical structure, I requested all on board our vessel to shoot them on all 

 occasions; but no birds having been procured, I was obliged to set outwith 



