198 
THE BROWN" PELICAN. 
as it is with me, retires into deeper water, these birds advance farther to sea- 
ward, and may be seen over all parts of the Gulf of Mexico, and between 
the Florida Reefs and the opposite isles, especially during fine weather. 
They are very sensible to cold, and in this respect are tender birds. Now 
and then, at the season, they are seen on Lake Borgne and over Lake 
Pontchartrain, but never on the Mississippi beyond the rise of the tides, 
the space higher up being abandoned to the White Pelican. The keenness 
of their sight is probably equal to that of any Hawk, and their hearing is 
also very acute. They are extremely silent birds, but when excited they 
utter a loud and rough grunt, which is far from musical. Several persons 
in the Floridas assured me that the Brown Pelicans breed at all seasons of 
the year ; but as I observed nothing to countenance such an idea, I would 
give it as my opinion that they raise only one brood in the season. 
Their bodies are greatly inflated by large air-cells ; their bones, though 
strong, are very light ; and they are tough to kill. 
Since I wrote my account of the habits of this very interesting bird, I 
have followed it westward as far as the inland bays of the Texas, where I 
found it almost as abundant as on the coast of the Floridas. In the former 
country, however, I observed it breeding on the ground, and on the small 
naked islets of the large bays margining the Mexican Gulf. The nests were 
formed much in the same manner as when placed on trees, and the eggs 
were of the same number as stated. Having examined several specimens 
procured on the nest, in the act of incubation, I found that the plumage of 
the fully adult female is precisely like that of the male ; and I am now 
convinced that birds of both sexes are several years in acquiring their full 
plumage, although the precise number of years is what I have not yet 
learned. Some additional observations respecting the habits of this species 
may now be stated. 
During a severe gale, on the 7th of April, 1836, the wind coming from 
the north-west, I saw a flock of about thirty of these birds flying only a few 
feet above the water, and against the gale. Having proceeded a few yards, 
they plunged into the water, generally to leeward, and threw their bodies 
round as soon as their bills were immersed, giving a very curious appearance 
to the wings, which seemed as if locked. On seizing a fish they kept the 
bill beneath the surface for a short time in a perpendicular direction, and 
drew it up gradually, when the water was seen to flow out, after which they 
raised the bill to an horizontal position, and swallowed the fish. In this way 
the whole flock kept dashing and plunging pell-mell, like Gannets, over a 
space of about one hundred yards, fishing at times in the very surf, and 
where the water could not be more than a very few feet deep. Each of 
them must have caught upwards of a score of fishes. As soon as they were 
