275 
or •whether, as is probable, the three were not represented, I am not able to say. About 
the island of Santa Cruz, they were to be seen at this time by hundreds. A single ono 
shot here proved to be the Melanetta ; but I am reasonably sure that all three birds 
were present. Their fishy diet and coarse flesh render them, if edible at all, anything 
but palatable food, and hence they are scarcely ever disturbed. As a result, they have 
become very tame, and approach close to the wharves and vessels in the harbor of San 
Francisco with the utmost unconcern. 
183. Mergus serrator, (Linn.).—Red-breasted Merganser. 
Very numerous in fall and winter, both on the coast and inland. A single bird, worn 
and faded, was shot, June 7, at Santa Barbara. The Mergus merganser also occurs iu 
large numbers. 
189. Mergus cucuJlatus, (Linn.).—Hooded Merganser. 
Appears iu fall in large numbers as a migrant. 
PELECANIDiE.—PELICANS. 
190. Pelecanus trachyrynchus, (Lath.).—White Pelican. 
The most conspicuous of all the feathered tribe that we found assembled at Kern 
Lake were the White Pelicans, noticeable both from their great size and the extreme 
whiteness of their plumage. This was in August, and the birds had probably remained 
here all summer, breeding somewhere about the lake. During the hours of mid-day 
they appeared to give up fishing entirely, and, betaking themselves to some dry spot 
along the lake, they dozed away the unoccupied hours, standing motionless in long 
rows, with their heads drawn on their breasts, and appearing lost to all around 
them. They were not, however, so taken up with their own meditations as to be for¬ 
getful of safety, and roused themselves always in time to be up and away ere I could 
get fairly within gunshot. They breed very early. Captain Bendire found the eggs of 
this bird in Oregon as early as April 12, though they continued laying eggs till into 
May. They are present upon all the inland waters of any size in California, and less 
often and in fewer number are found upon the coast. 
191. Pelecanus fuscus, (Linn.).—Brown Pelican. 
Pelecanus fuscus, Newb., P. Ii. R. Rep., vi, 1857, 108.— Bel., B. N. A., 1858, 870.—Heermann, P. R. R. 
Rep., x, 1859, 72.—Coop & Suckl., ibiel., 12, 1860, 266.—Coues, Key N. A. B., 1872, 300. 
In contrast to the habits of its more showy white cousin, which resorts to the fresh 
waters of the interior, breeding and living there, the Brown Pelican is found exclu¬ 
sively on the sea-coast, resorting to the bays and shallow inlets where are found the 
small fry which constitute its food. The waters about San Fraucisco are particularly 
favored by this bird, and in a trip across the bay one may see hundreds of these 
huge, uncouth birds winnowing their way from one fishing-ground to another with 
slow, measured wing-beats, or diving with sure aim from mid-air oil some luckless 
fish swimming near the surface. Undisturbed, they roam the bay at will, viewing 
the approach of steamer and vessel with utmost unconcern, and often, indeed, remain¬ 
ing on the water till almost run down by the approaching craft, when they lazily 
clear the water with heavy strokes and fly from almost under the bows. On account 
of their heavy bodies and the length of wings, they raise themselves with some little 
difficulty, and it requires a number of quick, vigorous strokes, delivered upon the sur¬ 
face of the water, ere they can get fairly on the wiug. They progress easily and 
firmly, now flopping their broad wings till the desired momentum is obtained, now 
gliding without motion on outstretched pinions. When fishing, they keep a few feet, 
from 10 to 20, above the water, aud when a fish is discovered they gather them¬ 
selves for the effort by a few short strokes of the wing; then with head down descend, 
making the water foam with the violence of their plunge. At night-fall they retire 
from the bay to distant sleeping-grounds, probably, as noticed by Dr. Newberry, to the 
broad expanse of the ocean, and when going and coming they fly in lines, and just 
clear the surface of the water, falling and rising with the heaving waves. 
About the island of Santa Cruz, these birds were uncommon, and I saw but few. 
Gkaculid^e.—Cormorants. 
192. Graculus dilophus .—Gray Double-crested Cormorant. 
This species nests on the Farallone Islands in great abundauce, as also upon the 
Santa Barbara group. It is common along the coast, and is also found on the large 
bodies of water inland, as at Kern Lake, where it was numerous. 
