abrupt motions of hand a or head it was possible to approach them or 
pass near thorn without trouble. A blind for use in observation or from 
which to take pictures was not needed. I was able to secure any num- 
ber of pictures of adult birds a^'disUnoes of from fifteen to twenty- 
five feet and o coats locally made exposures at six feet. In a 2 )proaohing 
the birds it was necessary only to move slowly and to avoid looking directly 
at the individuals that 1 desired to approach. 
Shore was ouch squabbling and fighting among the adults over nesting 
» "• ^ *. 1 , /* ( * * Vt **"- ev'WJ “* '( J T 4,.- *• *> '* di y *■* ^ ni | 1 $ r ? •* ’ 9 
material and nesting sites, titles brought nesting materiel to their mates 
and though frequently the sticks to be used wore picked up only a few feet 
away the male often ro.je and olroled around on the wing and then returned 
to pass the mateirlul over to his mate at the nest. Evidently supplies 
from a distance are more valuable than thoue from nearby! Uopglation took 
place on the nest or on the ground near it with the male grasping the female 
by seising her neck in the middle of his long bill. At the nest the two 
often went through grot os ,ue awkward movements with the neck extended and 
the pouch drawn dovn while the birds omitted the curious aspirating, sighing 
sound that s eas to form the only note of the adult. BiCUs that had not 
nested gathered on the flats in clone flocks adjacent to the rookeries. At 
tlraos they circled high in the air above the island or the riv«r opposite. 
The birds turned In great spirals with set wings but were widely scattered 
in small groups and did not maintain the close* regular formation that makes 
the aerial evolutions of the white Pelican so Impressive and beautiful to 
observe. 
Th ore was much fighting among birds not yet settled on nesting sites. 
3o«o fonolos attempted to appropriate whole nests and on one oooaslon 1 
sow n female ountod from two nests in succession, halos ndvtnosd toward 
