ISO THE CONDOR Vol. XIX 



ly the breeding range extended to Chase Lake, North Dakota, and even to Min- 

 nesota. Such an adaptability to the moist, showery atmosphere of Manitoba, 

 to the cold mountain heights of the Yellowstone, to the northern wilds of Great 

 Slave Lake, to the deserts surrounding Great Salt Lake and Pyramid Lake, and 

 to the torridity of Salton Sea, is fortunate for the good of the species ; else the 

 peculiar conditions essential to a nesting colony would not afford sites enough 

 for the maintenance of the race. 



The species is holding its own fairly well, for while the number of colonies 

 has been steadily decreased by the advancing civilization of the west, the num- 

 ber of birds in some of the colonies is increasing. The pelican requires pecu- 

 liar conditions for his home. First, there must be an inexhaustible supply of 

 iish. Kind of fish does not seem to matter, for on the muddy lakes of the Can- 

 adian prairies he eats pickerel and smaller fry with as great a relish as he does 

 the toothsome trout of the crystal-clear waters of Pyramid and Yellowstone 

 lakes. Second, as the bird cannot walk well the nest must be near the water. 

 Third, the nest must be low to afford easy access to the water, in which the 

 young swim long before they can fly. Fourth, the parents and the young are 

 white, and such conspicuous prey must be protected from terrestrial prowlers 

 by the isolation of an island. Fifth and most important, the island must be re- 

 mote, to afford privacy. Hence breeding pelicans are restricted to large bodies 

 of water remote (or protected) from man, and containing low-lying islands. 



In the Yellowstone, the earliest of the returning pelicans arrive about May 

 1, but the lake is then usually still covered with ice, and the birds spend their 

 time fishing in the open Yellowstone Kiver. All through May the number 

 steadily increases until there are about seven hundred birds ; occasionally one 

 or two wander to other parts of the Park but as a rule they confine themselves 

 to Yellowstone Lake and to the river as far north as Hayden Valley. As soon 

 as the ice disappears, and possibly slightly before, especially if the season is a 

 late one, they resort to Molly Island and begin nesting operations. The first 

 egg appears about May 25 and incubation begins a week later. To be exact, 

 there is little attempt at building a nest, for the eggs, two or three large white 

 ones, are laid within a slightly raised rim of sand and pebbles. The horny 

 knobs on the bills of both sexes are at their prime in late May, but by the mid- 

 dle of June they begin to fall, and before the end of the month all are shed. At 

 the same time the color of bill and pouch and the bare skin about the eyes loses 

 the red tinge of the breeding season, and remains yellow until the following 

 May brings its seasonal change again. The Avhite nuchal crest of the breeding 

 season is also at its prime in May, but is lost some ten days later than the bill- 

 knobs, and replaced by gray on the crown and nape. 



Both sexes share in the incubation duties, nest relief taking place near 

 noon each day, and, I have reason to believe, again at midnight. The extreme 

 similarity of the sexes prevents me from knowing whether the incoming birds 

 at noon are males, or even if there is any regularity at all. But I do know that 

 this change affords each day a fine opportunity to observe the wonderful flight 

 of pelicans in large flocks. Often they momrt high in air and perform maneu- 

 vers marvellous in a bird so large and apparently so clumsy (when seen in our 

 zoo's). Acquaintance with them in their native haunts shows them to be as 

 strong and graceful as their great spread of wing should indicate. I believe 

 that flocks follow the leadership of a wise old female pelican if any of that sex 

 are present, otherwise the most sagacious male. 



