296 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Maech 31 . 1802. 



THE BROWN PELICAN. 



IN America th^re are two species of pelicans, known as 

 the white and brown. The white pelican is more 

 extended in its range, having been found breeding as far 

 north as 45° north latitude, and is taken on the coast as 

 well as in the interior. It is a migrant to the northern 

 parts seasonably, and is found occasionally in all the 

 States in the great valley of the Mississippi in more or 

 less numbers, while in the Dakotas it breeds each year 

 in large rookeries. It has been taken in Michigan in 

 both peninsulas, but is not known to breed here. The 

 white pelican (Pelecamis erythorynchus), which is the 

 larger of the two birds, is therefore a consumer of fresh- 

 water fish, a habit in which it differs radically from its 

 cousin, the brown pelican (P. fuscus). During the past 

 winter and spring I had an excellent opportunity of ob- 

 serving the habits of the brown species, at a point on the 

 Indian River, Florida, where there was an extensive 

 breeding resort. 



The brown pelican — on the Atlantic coast at least— is 

 not accustomed to migrate north of 35° north latitude, 

 and is much more abundant well to the south of this par- 

 allel. The species is found on the southern coast of Cali- 

 fornia, I am informed, but is much more common on the 

 Gulf of Mexico and on the eastern shores of Florida. 

 Pelicans, like cormorants and nearly all other aquatic 

 birds, are gregarious, and the brown pelican, especially 

 in breeding season, which, by the way, lasts over six 

 months of the year, is noticeable in this respect. This 

 habit of massing in vast numbers to rear their young will 

 in time militate against the bird, and if protection by law 

 is not afforded them, the species will be exceedingly rare 

 during the next half century. Some accounts by reliable 

 writers which I have read seem hardly credible, but after 

 visiting a large breeding ground the past winter, I am 

 willing to admit that I can believe any amazing tale of 

 the past regarding this peculiar bird, familiar as I am 

 with the fact that there are only tens now where there 

 formerly were thousands. 



The brown pelican was formerly abundant on the 

 Georgian coast, and a goodly number may still be found 

 in certain quarters. A large colonv used to nest yearly 

 near the mouth of the St". John's River, but the site has 

 about been broken up. From St. Augustine south, birds 

 may be seen in increasing numbers as we get further 

 away from the settlements. On the Gulf coast, as with 

 the east Florida coast, birds may be found throughout 

 the year, and in certain spots in large numbers, but they 

 are nowbere as abundant as formerly. The methods of 

 their taking off are many and various; but it may be 

 doubted if any one method of extermination can equal 

 the butchery of the shotguns. Not far from Galveston, 

 Texas, there was located a few years ago a factory for 

 the rendering of pelican oil f rom'the bodies of the birds 

 taken at a famous nesting ground near, and this pelican 

 oil factory was allowed to run unmolested by the State, 

 finally shutting down busines when the supply of birds 

 ran out, and the few which escaped butchery left for 

 another quarter. 



During the past winter I found it was a favorite pas- 

 time with many of the tourists, who brought their guns 

 with them, to shoot pelicans on the beach, and in the 

 course of ninety days, it is fair to say that I saw ninety 

 birds destroyed. The flying bird presents a grand mark 

 to fire at with a rifle; but for a shotgun, no skill is re- 

 quired, as the birds tumble easily, even to No. 6 shot at 

 40yds. 



All the birds going from the island, where they were 

 nesting, were found to have empty gullets, while those 

 returning to their nesting ground were almost invariably 

 loaded with fish. The largest number of fish contained 

 in one bird was thirteen, the smallest of which was four 

 and a half inches in length and the longest one eleven 

 and and a half inches. The weight of the load was one 

 pound, five ounces. Another load that we weighed 

 scored only seven fish, but indicated two pounds, four 

 ounces, the fish being of even size and heavy. I was in- 

 formed by a man in whom I place much confidence that 

 he took from a bird's gullet a mullet which weighed over 

 three pounds. This does not seem unreasonable when 

 one watches pelicans eating fish in the city parks. I 

 kept specimens of each kind of fish taken from pelican's 

 gullets, pouches and crops, in order to have an exact list, 

 but the jar containing the fishes was unfortunately de- 

 stroyed before I had succeeded in identifying all the 

 species. The following species were identified, however: 

 Mullet, porgy, sailor's choice, sheepshead, catfish, toad- 

 fish. Mullet predominated, while only two catfish were 

 found and but a single swell-toad. Not one of all the 

 pelicans dissected by me contained a particle of anything 

 excepting fish in either pouch, gullet, crop or elsewhere. 

 The gizzard, as would be expected from the nature of 

 food . is very soft and much like the stomach of some 

 reptiles. 



In fishing the pelican generally sits on the water and 

 secures its prey, apparently without effort. Diving its 

 head suddenlv as it floats or swims slowly about, it 

 widely opens 'its great bill, making a quick motion, and 

 engulfs its prey. The pelican is a very slow swimmer 

 and cannot get out of the way of even a slowly rowed 

 boat. So far as I have seen it never dives to avoid a 

 hunter, but always takes wing in ample time. When the 

 head emerges from the water, after the bird has made a 

 sudden movement beneath the water, there is no indica- 

 tion that it has secured its prey. From the fact that the 

 pelican never holds the fish between its mandibles as 

 do the herons and kingfishers just after a catch, and that 

 it is not noticed as being in the pouch, I have been led to 

 think that it does not seize its prey as do other aquatic 

 birds, but that it swallows the fish at once and under 

 water. This conviction became stronger after I had seen 

 many pelicans repeatedly diving into a school of mullet, 

 and when it was known that the birds had just come 

 from their nests with empty crops. Not a fish was to be 

 seen between the mandibles, and yet when one of the 

 birds was Bhot a little later, several lively mullets were 

 found in the gullet. My conclusions may be given here, 

 which, if not new, are certainly entirely unlike anything 

 which I have ever heard or read about. The pelican's 

 upper mandible is hard and firm and capable of being 

 bent only to a limited degree. The lower mandible, on 

 the contrary, although when closed against the upper one 



strongly held in position, is, when lowered from it, ca- 

 pable of a great variation in shape. This may be best 

 seen by examining the bill of a newly killed specimen. 

 The lower mandible, it will be found, can be shortened 

 fully three inches by pressing on the point and toward 

 the head, the sack or bag thereby becoming greatly 

 widened. The lower mandible, although only slightly 

 over an inch broad when collapsed, may be spread to a 

 width of fully five inches. If, then, when thelrird dives, 

 as we may call it, although the pelican rarely goes as 

 fully under the water as the fishhawk or kingfisher, it 

 desires to secure a fish it opens its net by spreading its 

 lower jaw, and with the sharp edges of the upper mandi- 

 ble just above to snap up any mullet which attempts to 

 escape, rushes through the water and thus secures its 

 meal. I have read that pelicans toss up fish from their 

 bills before finally swallowing, but could never verify 

 this statement, but I am satisfied that they must, at least 

 occasionally, do this, for the reason that they stow the fish 

 in the pouches without regard to system, and either head 

 or tail toward the gullet. Having always found the 

 swallowed fish head down in the gullet and crop, I am 

 satisfied that it is their custom to swallow fish head first, 

 probably to avoid difficulty with the fins. Therefore a 

 fish placed head toward the tip of bill in the pouch would 

 have to be turned before being finally swallowed. Peli- 

 cans possess a great distensibility of gullet, and I doubt 

 not an adult could swallow a ten-pound fish with ease, 

 although the ultimate disposal of it might trouble him. 



When flying, thev draw up the long neck so that they 

 look to me much like a gigantic woodcock with its long- 

 bill protruding. They are unsuspecting birds, and may 

 be easily approached unless much disturbed, and this 

 characteristic too often leads to their destruction, as per- 

 sons are constantly visiting their grounds and shooting 

 them as they fly by. 



Down on the Indian River we learned of a rookery, and 

 having heard-that the birds were in the midst of nesting, 

 we resolved to visit them. Accordingly the morning of 

 Feb, 17, 1891, six of us set out in the yacht Lida for the 

 resort. The island, two or three acres in extent, is very 

 low, barely above the water. It is situated about twenty 

 miles south of Melbourne, Brevard county, Fla., and has 

 been known for many years as an assembling ground for 

 the brown pelicans. There are not as many birds to be seen 

 about the place as were there formerly, but a sufficient 

 number still nest there to warrant a few remarks about 

 their breeding habits. 



When our craft came within 300yds. of the shore, the 

 birds began to get uneasy, and when we had approached 

 within 50yds. of the island, an immense number rose 

 from the ground and the few stunted trees and flew about 

 with nearly noiseless wings. Ie was not, however, until 

 a gun was fired, that a good idea of the size of the colony 

 was had. Clouds of the clumsy creatures arose from the 

 ground and in a short time settled on the shallow water 

 all about the island; those nearest land undoubtedly be- 

 ing the parents of the young birds, as they occasionally 

 flew about and over the nesting site. By a careful esti- 

 mate, we agreed that there were at least 4,000 birds pres- 

 ent, while undoubtedly a great many were away on fish- 

 ing expeditions, as they are known to feed twenty miles 

 or more from home. Some of our party placed the esti- 

 mate on the assembled birds as high as 10,000, The con- 

 dition and size of many of the young gave evidence that 

 nesting must have begun by the first day of the year 

 if not as early as Dec. 15. A few of the young were quite 

 three weeks old and as incubation occupies from three to 

 four weeks, a reasonable inference may be drawn as to 

 the beginning of nest building. 



Nearly all the nests were built on the ground, and 

 though a few were still empty, about all contained three 

 or four eggs or young. Three eggs appears to be the 

 average set, although many nests contained four and 

 quite as many only two. A few black mangroves at the 

 edge of the island' held thirty nests or so on their bare 

 irregularly shaped limbs from 5 to 15ft. from the ground. 

 They differed from those built on the surface in having 

 many heavy sticks in their construction and in being 

 stronger and with a greater hollow. Those nests built in 

 trees were evidently occupied first, as they all contained 

 young. The nests on the ground were often built to a 

 height of 9in., and one or two quite a foot high, but the 

 majority were not above 5in. in height and some were 

 not over 3in. As a rule the nests were about 2ft. in 

 diameter, but some were larger by 4 or 5 in., and some 

 were considerably less in size; those evidently built by 

 inexperienced birds. They were all composed of dead 

 grass and rushes, very coarse, and from a distance much 

 resembled little bunches of straw. Some were constructed 

 very shiftlessly and again some were very neat affairs of 

 their kind, well built and deeply hollowed. It was evi- 

 dent from examination that the birds when setting 

 always occupied the same position, the head generally 

 presenting toward the water. In those nests containing 

 large young, the structures were usually much disar- 

 ranged and beaten down, and were in some cases almost 

 entirely pulled to pieces. 



There must have been 200 nests containing eggs and 

 young birds. Many contained both eggs and young of at 

 least a week old. In some nests could be found birds of 

 ages that varied a week or ten days, and in one case dis- 

 similarity was so great that the larger bird was endeav- 

 oring to swallow his diminutive squab relative. We 

 were informed that when the eggs roll from the nests 

 there are frequent fights among the old birds as to right 

 possession, and from their anxiety to secure all the eggs 

 they can for their nests. This theory would seem wrong 

 when we consider that in no nest were there found over 

 four young or eggs, for some bird, more pugnacious than 

 the rest, would certainly secure much more than its 

 share, but still the habit may obtain and the pelican 

 know full well when the complement, four eggs, is at- 

 tained. At any rate the eggs get changed about in some 

 inexpicable manner and the emerging of the young varies 

 much in time. 



The young when first out are without covering and are 

 disgusting looking things; in fact, at no time in its' exist- 

 ence can we in any way allude to the brown pelican as 

 handsome in any degree, When the birds are about a 

 week old they are covered with down, and at this time 

 they present a ludicrous appearance, heightened by their 

 attempts to waddle out of the observer's way, or later, 

 when they sit upright in the wreck of a nest and hiss 

 spitefully at the intruder, making stupid lunges with their 

 long, ungainly necks. , , ,. 



The did birds feed the very young, as I proved by dig- 



section, with very small pieces of fish, which are fed by 

 being disgorged by the parent, as I know some of the 

 herons to feed their young. As soon as the youngsters 

 are of sufficient size they are allowed to swallow full- 

 sized fish, and the amount that a three to four-pound 

 nestling will gulp down would astonish one not familiar 

 with a pelican's habits. Many of the young were seen 

 sitting bolt upright, with the tail of a fish sticking out of 

 their beaks, and the sight of one uncomfortably full is 

 enough to provoke a laugh from anybody. All these 

 squabs which were too full for utterance of their hisses 

 immediately attempted to disgorge upon our appearance 

 near their nests, but many succeeded only after the most 

 remarkable contortions, writhings and wrigglings that it 

 has ever been my privilege to witness. Several had 

 gulped down fish 10 to 12in, in length, and as the old ones 

 are in the habit of dropping the fish into the eager mouths 

 head first, it follows that the spines of the fins were diffi- 

 cult to overcome. One bird, only 19in. long by actual 

 measurement, was found outside of a 12|in. mullet, the 

 tail of which alone showed outside the young pelican's 

 mouth, where it was vigorously waved by its captor which 

 was vainly trying to disgorge. 



We secured some fresh eggs for our oological cabinet, 

 and also attempted to cook some. The eggs are white 

 but soon get stained, and are provided with a thick cal- 

 careous coating. They are, in capacity, about twice the 

 size of a domestic fowl's egg, but vary much in size and 

 shape, We secured excellent specimens from the eggs 

 we took for our collections, and. have made presents to 

 many of our friends at the North, but the eggs, as a food, 

 proved an utter failure. The flavor is rank and strong, 

 and I cannot imagine any person but a starving Indian 

 who would eat them. 



The peli«an must have remarkable powers of digestion, 

 as it manages to digest all the fish bones which it swal- 

 lows. Although I looked carefully about the nests con- 

 taining good sized, as well as small young, I could not 

 find the slightest evidence that the bones were disgorged 

 after the flesh was digested. This evidently proves that 

 the bones are all digested. 



In conclusion I may offer a tabulation of figures which 

 if only half correct will prove conclusively that the brown 

 pelican is undoubtedly the greatest enemv to salt water 

 fish which we have among the birds of America. If a 

 single bird eats and destroys sixteen fish a day, each 

 weighing four ounces, we find that the allowance reaches 

 one thousand four hundred and sixty pounds of fish a 

 year, and these figures are probably very reasonable. 

 One colony of pelicans embracing five thousand individ- 

 uals would consume three thousand six hundred and 

 fifty tons, or over seven million pounds of fish annually. 

 These figures are sufficient, and it 13 needless to call at- 

 tention to the fact that there are hundreds of these colo- 

 nies of pelicans. On principle perhaps it is well to kill 

 off the pelicans and save the fish, but I for one say no to 

 this proposition. If it is done, then kill off the fishhawk, 

 herons, kingfisher and all other piscivorous beasts and 

 birds, But it is better to let Nature take its oouree. 



Morris GlBBS, M. D. 



Kalamazoo, Mich. 



A Word for the Eagle.— The Forest and Stream 

 has mentioned in late issues the taking: of the eges of the 

 eagle, in one instance to the extent of 36 pairs. Although 

 the intimation is given that they were for scientific 

 purposes, it seems to me that science does not demand the 

 total extinction of this noble bird, which must ensue if 

 they are destroyed in embryo as well as at maturity. 

 Your last issue mentioned the killing of an eagle on the 

 North River, the bird measuring 9ft. from tip to tip, and 

 the man was to have the same '•mounted." About the 

 first eagle I ever saw in my youth was "mounted" on a 

 stuffed sheep to give the representation of having just 

 killed the same. I remember I had less pity for the sheep 

 than for the eagle. Now, if the man who killed the eagle 

 on the North River will only have the same set up or 

 "mounted" on the skin of a stuffed donkey, I think it 

 would not be inappropriate. This bird is becoming rarer 

 with each year, and as our national bird should be pro- 

 tected by national laws, otherwise it will be added to the 

 list of the auk, bison, etc., very soon. Congress seems 

 intent in adding to the value of its coin namesake. 

 Why not at the same time protect the original?— Reig-n- 

 qlds (Boston). 



A California Bdffai.o Farm.— Buffalo farming at 

 Monterey promises to become a big success. It will be 

 recalled that some days ago another buffalo, cap- 

 tured near the borders of Yellowstone Park, was added 

 to the herd of W. C. Winslow, near the site of the his- 

 toric old town. "Queerly enough," said Thomas J. Wil- 

 son, of Monterey, yesterday, "these buffaloes take to 

 their new place remarkably well. There was some doubt 

 about it at first, especially as the buffalo is not indigen- 

 ous to the Pacific Coast. His real country is the desert 

 region of the interior. We did not know at first but this 

 was too warm and enervating: and too near the seashore, 

 and furthermore that the buffalo, being essentially wild, 

 might not, like the Indian, thrive near civilization, but 

 he does. The buffaloes crop the tame grass and appear 

 to like it and keep in as good condition every way as on 

 the bunch grass." — San Francisco Examiner, March 10. 



Early Birds. — Beaver, Pa., March 14.— On the morn- 

 ing of Feb. 16 I saw a flock of nine turtle doves (Zenai- 

 dura macroura). Feb. 18 the robin {Merula migratoria) 

 gave us his first notes, and on the morning of the 26th 

 (in a beautiful snow storm), down in the garden corner 

 (on his old perch, a wild blackberry bush, which we have 

 left there for his special benefit) sat my little friend, the 

 song sparrow (Melospiza fasciata), singing as if he would 

 burst himself with gladness upon reaching home. He is 

 two days ahead of time. Bluebirds came next day. On 

 the 29th a snow storm set in and they left us for a few 

 days. March 3 the purple grackle (Qwiscalnx quisculu) 

 arrived. In a trip through the country the other day I 

 found my seed flocks of quail and many ruffed grouee 

 Btill in good shape, The winter baa been comparatively 

 open and they have fared well. — G. A. Scroggs. 



A lbino Quail. — Arroyo Grande, Cal. , March 14.— I send 

 you by mail to-day the head and wing of an albino Cali- 

 fornia valley quail. It was killed near here, but was 

 torn by the doe so that only the head and wing were 

 saved,— W. B. P. 



