395 
of Western Greece . 
Time was, and not so long ago, when Pelecanus crispus lived 
in hundreds all the year round, from the rocky promontory of 
Kourtzolari, hard by the mouth of the Acheloiis, on the western 
extremity of the lagoon, to the islands of iEtolico, up its northern 
arms, and, on the east, to the great mud-flats which mark the 
limits of the present delta of the Phidaris. Now-a-days a solitary 
individual may be seen fishing here and there throughout the la¬ 
goon, but the small remnant of this once mighty host have made 
their last stand upon the islands which divide the Gulf of Proco- 
panisto from the Gulf of iEtolico. Here, towards the end of Fe¬ 
bruary last, the community of Pelicans constructed a group of 
seven nests,—a sad falling-off from the year 1858, when thirty- 
five nests, the remains of which had not then disappeared, were 
grouped in contiguous proximity upon a neighbouring islet. It 
needs not the nose of a pointer to discover the locality, even if 
the large white birds themselves were not a sufficient guide. As 
we approached the spot in a boat the Pelicans left their nests, 
and taking to the water, sailed away like a fleet of stately ships, 
leaving their newly-built establishment in possession of the in¬ 
vader. The boat grounded in 2 or 3 feet of mud, and when the 
party had floundered through this, the seven nests were discovered 
to be empty. A fisherman had plundered them that morning, 
taking from each nest one egg, all of which we of course re¬ 
covered. The nests were constructed in a great measure of the 
old reed palings used by the natives for enclosing the fish, 
though with these were mixed such pieces of the vegetation of 
the islet as were suitable for the purpose. The seven nests were 
contiguous, and disposed in the shape of an irregular cross,—the 
navel of the cross, which was the tallest nest, being about 30 
inches high, the two next in line on each side being about 2 feet 
high, the two nests forming each arm of the cross a few inches 
lower, and the two extremes at either end being about 14 inches 
from the ground. These latter, it is presumed, were intended 
for the junior partners of the firm, in the same way that the 
great bear of nursery tales has a big seat, his wife a middling 
seat, and the little bear a small seat. The eggs are chalky, like 
those of the Peleccinidce generally, very rough in texture, and 
some of them much streaked with blood. 
