PELICANS: WHITE PELICAN 
83 
strainer to prevent the passage of fish bones or large fragments of chitin 
into the intestine until they have been reduced to a proper size and con¬ 
dition by the process of digestion. In this way injury to the intestinal 
walls from these hard fragments may be avoided” (1924, p. 4). 
Additional Literature.—Allen, A. A., Bird-Lore, XVI, 243-253,1914.— Bent, 
A. C., U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 107, 39-47, 1919.— Brewster, William, Bull. Mus. 
Comp. Zool. Harvard, LXVI, 41-43, 1924.— Chapman, F. M., Bird Studies with a 
Camera, 70, 1900.— Culver, D. E., Auk, XXXI, 395-397, 1914 (concealing pos¬ 
tures).— Eifreg, C. W., Auk, XXXII, 95,1915.— Gabrielson, Ira N., Wilson Bull., 
XXVI, 13-15, 1914.— Rockwell, R. B., Condor, XII, 188-193, 1910.— Thayer, 
G. H., Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom, 83, Figs. 77-82, 1909.— 
Wetmore, Alexander, Auk, XXXVII, 235-237, 1920; U. S. Dept. Agr. Bull. 
1196, 19-23, 1924. 
PELICANS, CORMORANTS, DARTERS, etc.: Order Pelecaniformes 
PELICANS: Family Pelecanidae 
In the Pelicans the gular pouch is an immense skinny fishing bag 
or dip-net, hung to the bill, capable of holding several quarts, while the 
stomach is comparatively small. The air-sacs are extraordinarily 
developed to lighten the heavy body for flight. The feet are fully 
webbed. The sexes are alike in plumage, with seasonal variations. 
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN: Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Gmclin 
Description.— Length: About 4}/£ to nearly 6 feet, extent of wings 8J^> to 
nearly 10 feet; weight about 17 pounds; wing 20-25.2 inches, bill 11-15. Adults in 
nuptial plumage: White, with straw color on breast and wing-coverts and sometimes 
crest at back of head; wing-quills largely black, iris 
white, grayish or dusky; eyelids red, bare skin about 
eye, orange; bill and pouch mostly reddish, bill with 
a horny crest; legs and feet orange-red. Adults in 
post-nuptial plumage: Back of head gray, without crest; 
bill, legs, and feet yellow, bill without horny crest. 
Young in first winter: White, top of head and wing 
coverts brownish gray; bill, face, pouch, legs, and feet 
pale yelloivish. 
Range. —Breeds in the lake regions of the western interior from central British 
Columbia (one colony), Great Slave Lake, and Lake Winnipeg south to North 
Dakota, Utah, Nevada, and southern California (one colony near Corpus Christi, 
Texas); winters from southern California, northern Utah^southwestern Arizona, the 
Gulf States, Florida, and Cuba south through Antilles and along both coasts of 
Mexico and Central America to Panama. Wanders in migrations over United States 
aud Canada. 
State Records. —Formerly the White Pelican was much more common than at 
present. In the days of its abundance it was common along the eastern foothills 
of the Rocky Mountains during its migrations between its winter home near the 
Gulf of Mexico and its breeding grounds in California, Nevada, Utah, and the 
northern United States and Canada. In 1851 it was found common near Albu¬ 
querque (Woodhouse), and a few years later was noted as not uncommon in Aug¬ 
ust at Fort Thorn (Henry). One is reported to have been seen in late years 
