﻿3°4 
  

  

  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  August, 
  1907 
  

  

  The 
  White 
  Pelican 
  

  

  By 
  B. 
  S. 
  Bowdish 
  

  

  MONG 
  the 
  great 
  colonies 
  of 
  birds 
  which 
  still 
  

   exist 
  in 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  wild 
  lake 
  regions 
  of 
  the 
  

   western 
  States, 
  none, 
  perhaps, 
  is 
  more 
  re- 
  

   markable 
  or 
  interesting 
  than 
  the 
  white 
  

   pelican, 
  striking 
  both 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  its 
  large 
  

   size 
  and 
  the 
  peculiar 
  appearance 
  that 
  its 
  

   great 
  bill 
  gives 
  it. 
  Involuntarily, 
  as 
  one 
  

   views 
  the 
  great 
  birds, 
  either 
  in 
  their 
  native 
  

   haunts 
  or 
  in 
  the 
  zoological 
  gardens, 
  one 
  

   wonders 
  how 
  they 
  came 
  to 
  be 
  what 
  they 
  

   are, 
  from 
  whence 
  the 
  immense 
  bills 
  and 
  

   the 
  peculiar 
  structures. 
  Our 
  more 
  mod- 
  

   ern 
  explanations 
  of 
  structural 
  peculiari- 
  

   ties 
  take 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  advantages 
  that 
  they 
  may 
  offer 
  

   to 
  their 
  possessors, 
  and 
  recognize 
  the 
  power 
  of 
  evolu- 
  

   tion 
  as 
  equal 
  to 
  the 
  task 
  of 
  producing 
  such 
  characters 
  as 
  

   will 
  best 
  serve 
  the 
  needs. 
  The 
  conditions 
  in 
  which 
  a 
  crea- 
  

   ture 
  lives 
  thus 
  affect 
  its 
  structure, 
  even 
  though 
  it 
  be 
  very 
  

   slowly, 
  and 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  the 
  ancestral 
  forms 
  which 
  are 
  

   plainly 
  traceable 
  to 
  certain 
  species 
  were 
  vastly 
  different 
  from 
  

   their 
  present-day 
  descendants. 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  pelican, 
  

   however, 
  fossil 
  remains 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  of 
  long 
  ago 
  are 
  prac- 
  

   tically 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  our 
  present 
  birds. 
  

  

  The 
  white 
  pelican 
  has 
  been 
  rather 
  more 
  difficult 
  than 
  the 
  

   brown 
  one 
  to 
  cultivate 
  acquaintance 
  with. 
  Nevertheless, 
  it 
  

   has 
  been 
  studied 
  in 
  its 
  home, 
  and 
  its 
  habits 
  in 
  the 
  zoological 
  

   gardens 
  have 
  been 
  observed. 
  It 
  combines 
  a 
  body 
  that 
  is 
  

   smaller 
  than 
  its 
  thick 
  coat 
  of 
  feathers 
  would 
  lead 
  one 
  to 
  sup- 
  

   pose, 
  with 
  lightness 
  of 
  structure 
  and 
  immense 
  wing 
  area 
  in 
  

   relation 
  to 
  its 
  weight. 
  The 
  expanse 
  of 
  wings 
  of 
  the 
  white 
  

  

  pelican 
  is 
  sometimes 
  nine 
  feet. 
  The 
  bones, 
  like 
  those 
  of 
  

   other 
  creatures, 
  are 
  hollow 
  and 
  light, 
  and 
  the 
  body 
  is 
  pro- 
  

   vided 
  with 
  interior 
  air-sacs, 
  giving 
  additional 
  lightness 
  and 
  

   buoyancy. 
  On 
  the 
  water 
  not 
  a 
  third 
  of 
  the 
  body 
  is 
  sub- 
  

   merged, 
  and 
  it 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  with 
  difficulty 
  that 
  the 
  birds 
  

   submerge 
  themselves 
  in 
  diving 
  for 
  their 
  prey. 
  This, 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  is 
  not 
  a 
  handicap, 
  since 
  they 
  seem 
  to 
  find 
  an 
  abundant 
  

   supply 
  of 
  food 
  near 
  the 
  surface. 
  Because 
  they 
  are 
  so 
  buoyant 
  

   they 
  swim 
  easily, 
  riding 
  the 
  waves 
  for 
  hours, 
  when 
  they 
  so 
  

   desire. 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  the 
  brown 
  pelicans 
  plunge 
  head 
  down- 
  

   ward 
  from 
  a 
  considerable 
  height, 
  striking 
  the 
  water 
  with 
  a 
  

   resounding 
  whack, 
  like 
  wind-bags, 
  and 
  even 
  then 
  not 
  more 
  

   than 
  half 
  submerging 
  themselves. 
  On 
  the 
  wing, 
  pelicans 
  are 
  

   capable 
  of 
  sailing 
  for 
  long 
  stretches, 
  with 
  wings 
  held 
  rigid, 
  

   and 
  they 
  often 
  skim 
  the 
  water 
  thus, 
  following 
  the 
  undulating 
  

   contour 
  of 
  the 
  waves. 
  Pelicans 
  secure 
  their 
  prey 
  both 
  by 
  

   plunging 
  from 
  a 
  height, 
  while 
  flying, 
  and 
  by 
  snatching 
  it 
  up 
  

   while 
  swimming. 
  The 
  upper 
  mandible 
  is 
  strong, 
  but 
  light, 
  

   the 
  hooked 
  tip 
  serving 
  as 
  a 
  guard 
  against 
  the 
  escape 
  of 
  fish, 
  

   while 
  the 
  lower 
  mandible 
  is 
  simply 
  a 
  light 
  frame 
  which 
  sup- 
  

   ports 
  the 
  pouch. 
  As 
  the 
  bill 
  is 
  opened 
  in 
  grasping 
  the 
  prey 
  

   the 
  sides 
  of 
  this 
  frame 
  are 
  bowed 
  outwardly 
  by 
  the 
  action 
  

   of 
  a 
  set 
  of 
  muscles 
  for 
  that 
  purpose, 
  the 
  tip 
  being 
  contracted, 
  

   and 
  the 
  mandible 
  and 
  pouch 
  becoming 
  a 
  very 
  serviceable 
  dip 
  

   net. 
  

  

  The 
  water 
  is 
  readily 
  expelled 
  from 
  the 
  apertures 
  at 
  the 
  

   sides, 
  while 
  the 
  upper 
  mandible, 
  resting 
  across 
  the 
  middle 
  

   of 
  the 
  lower, 
  prevents 
  the 
  escape 
  of 
  the 
  fish. 
  

  

  Most 
  very 
  young 
  birds 
  are 
  fed 
  with 
  predigested 
  food 
  re- 
  

   gurgitated 
  by 
  the 
  parent 
  from 
  its 
  crop, 
  the 
  parent's 
  bill, 
  dur- 
  

  

  H 
  i 
  '._- 
  1 
  ^^animiMNi 
  

  

  Characteristic 
  Attitudes 
  Assumed 
  by 
  Pelicans 
  

  

  