
HABITAT BIRD GROUPS 6] 
Pelican Island on the Indian River of Florida has been made a reser- 
vation by the United States Government, and these grotesque 
birds may now breed there undisturbed. The view shows a 
section of the island at the height of the nesting season. 
Notwithstanding the hundreds of young birds that are clamoring for 
food, observation has shown that the parent bird can pick out its own 
offspring with unfailing accuracy. (Reproduced from studies at Pelican 
Island, Florida.) 
This beautiful bird has been brought to the verge of extinction in this 
country through the use of its “ aigrette plumes ”’ for millinery 
purposes, and is now confined to a few protected rookeries of 
the South. The birds have these plumes only during the nest- 
ing season, at which time the death of the parent means the 
starvation of the young. (Reproduced from studies in a rookery of South 
Brown Peli- 
can Group 
Snowy Heron 
or Egret 
Group 
Carolina. ) 
The turkey vulture or buzzard is one of the best known birds of the 
South where it performs a valuable service in acting as the 
scavenger of the streets. On this account it is protected 
by law and by public sentiment and has become both abun- 
dant and tame. (Reproduced from studies at Plummer Island in the 
Potomac River, near Washington. 
The California condor is the largest and one of the rarest of North 
American birds. It is not so heavy as the condor of the Andes 
Turkey Vul- 
ture Group 
aa but has a slightly greater spread of wing, eight and one-half 
Group to eleven feet. In the group the visitor is supposed to be 
standing in the interior of the cave where the bird has its 
nest and is looking down on the river of the cafon which is more than 
five thousand feet below. (Reproduced from studies in Piru Cajion, 
California. ) 
The foreground of the group shows a detail of the island that is 
painted in the background. The young birds are feeding and 
ee, it will be noticed that one fledgeling is reaching well down the 
Group mother’s throat after the predigested food. (Reproduced 
from studies at Monterey, California.) 
Formerly this area was an arid place with a characteristic desert bird 
fauna. Now the ranchmen have irrigated the land and 
aquatic bird life abounds. This group is a good illustration 
of the influence of man on the bird life of a region. 
In the breeding season the flamingos congregate in great numbers in 
their rookeries. There were estimated to be two thousand nests in this 
colony. The flamingos construct their nests by scooping up mud with 
San Joaquin 
Valley Group 
