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Vol. XV11I 
the possible explanation is that they were laid before the nest was built, or 
possibly while the eggs that had previously been deposited in the nest were 
being incubated. The eggs of the pelican are white and have a very rough 
texture. They differ from the eggs of the terns and gulls in being elliptical 
in shape. 
The nesting season of the pelican apparently extends over a period of five 
or six weeks at least. It probably begins some two weeks before those of the 
gulls and Caspian Terns. This was indicated by the presence of young pelicans 
some two weeks old, and eggs in all stages of incubation, as well as unfinished 
nest mounds. The feeding habits of the young pelicans was a matter of con- 
siderable interest. It had always been the opinion of the writer that the young 
were fed from the pouch of the parent bird. However, upon observation, this 
was shown to be at variance from the facts. The parent bird opens its mouth 
and the young one thrusts its head down into the throat, while the old bird 
contorts itself, presumably in the efforts to aid in the regurgitation of the 
partly digested food. It is possible, however, that when the young become 
more mature and there is no longer a need for predigested food, they feed 
directly from the food carried in the pouch. 
The young birds are hatched entirely naked, and it is only when they are 
a week or ten days old that they acquire a scant covering of down. The 
gregarious habits of the pelican are well demonstrated in the young as well 
as in the adults. As soon as the young are able to leave the nest and waddle 
about with the aid of their stubby wings, they gather in bands. Instances were 
noted where the young had evidently left their nests at too early a date, and, 
being unable to hold their own, had been trampled to death by their larger 
associates. 
We noted several examples of the nuptial excrescence that forms on the 
upper mandible of the adults during the mating season. T have consulted 
much of the literature on pelicans, but thus far have been unable to ascertain 
the function of this curious growth that is lost so soon after the breeding 
period. It probably bears some kin to the red comb and wattles of several 
of the gallinaceous birds that seem to function during the same period. 
Great Blue Heron. — It seems rather strange that a bird with the solitary 
habits of the Great Blue Heron should be gregarious while nesting. This can 
probably be explained by the added protection that numbers give. The nests 
of this bird were found on the east side of the island from some three rods 
from the water to the top of the crown of the Hat. They were all placed in the 
low scrubby bushes. Several were usually found in any bush or clump that 
was occupied. In one case there were seven nests in one cluster. The nests are 
large masses of well woven twigs. The construction of these nests must have 
entailed a large amount of labor, considering that they were about three and a 
half feet across and two feet deep, and twigs, like Winchester in the poem, 
thirty miles away. The eggs were from two to six in number. They were 
greenish blue in color and, like the eggs of the pelican, were elliptical in 
shape, though with comparatively greater diameter. 
The herons apparently have the longest nesting period of all the birds 
living on Hat Island. There were eggs that showed no incubation, incomplete 
clutches, and young birds that were three-quarters grown, and all the inter- 
vening stages. 
The young showed no tendency towards sociability either towards eaeh 
