t r «& s
AMERICAN WHITE- P KI . IC A.N.
., , l'Kl.ECÁX.U.S AMKHICAXCS.
' PLATE CCCXI. ADULT MALE.
I FEEÍG "great pleasure, good Reader, in assuring1 yon, that our White
Pelican, which has hitherto* boon considiéíed thÉísame as that found in
Europe, is quite different. In consequence of this discovery,; I have
honoured it with 'the "name of my boloved country, oyer the mighty
streams of which, may this splendid bird wander free and unmolested
to the most distant times, as it has already done from the misty ages
•'iff unknown antiquity.
In Dr RICHABHSON'S Introduotio'fr to the' second Volume of- the
Fauna Bnroa'i-Americana,'we are-informed, that -the I'elecanus.Onocrotalm
(which is! the' bin! now nnmcü f'. 'Americanus) (lies in dense
Hocks all the surnrrierin the fur countries. At page 172, the same intrepid
traveller says, that " I'olicaJiS are tiunionms-iii the' interior of
the fur countries up to thfe sixty-first paraU«'!Í®j¡f they seldom coin©
within tVvo hundred miles of Hudson's Bay. They deposit their eggs
usually on rocky islands, oft the brink of cascades, where -they
scarcely be approached';*fe|| they are otherwisé byno means sl'iy birds."
My learned friend also speaks of the " long thin bony process 'seen on
the upper niaiulible'of the bill of this species and although neither
he nor Mr SWATS-SON pointed'out* the actual difféíenée'S othervwslfixisting'
between this and the European species, M states that no such appearance
has been described ás occurring on the bills of the: White Pelicans
of the' old Continent.
When, somewhat moré than thirty years ago, I first TOnrovrd to
Kentucky, Pelicans of Hi s species were frequently seen by me on the
sand-bars of the. Ohio; and on rock-bound waters of the. rapids
of that majestic rBei^situatesd, as you well know, between Louisville
and Hhippingpoft. Say when, a few years afterwards, I established
myself at Heftderson, the White Pelicans were so abundant that I often
killed several at a shot, on a well known >and-bar, which protects
Canoe' Creek Island. During those delightful days of .my early manhood,
how often have I watched them with delight! Methinks in-
A.MKKICAN WHITE PELICAN. 89
deed, Reader, those day^have returned to me, as if to enable me the;
better jOnce .more to n t i ' t i i e scattered mates: contained in myoftensearched
journals.
Rsageid,along the margins of the-, sand-bar, in broken array, stand
a hundred heavy-bodied Pelicans. Gorgeous .tints, all autumnal, en- -
rich the', foliage of..every tree around, the reflection of which,'like
fragments of the rainbow,.seems to'fill tig. very depths of the placid
and aljnost sleeping waters of the Ohio,. The .subdued and ruddy
beams, of the orb o£,day assur,gme that the Indian summer has.com,
monced, that happy season of unrivalled loveliness and serenity, symbolic;
of, autumnal life,, which to every enthusiastic lover , of naturemust
begjiiggJ and .-almost period of his career. Pluming, themselves,
the gorged Pelicans patiently wait the, return of hunger.
Should one chance to .gape, all, as.if by sympathy, in succession open
their, longhand, broad mandiblesj, yawning, lazily and ludicrously.
\u.w,.tlu! whole length of their largest quills is passed through ¡the
bill, until at. length their apparel is. a.s beautifully trimmed as if the
party were to figurc-at a route. But mark, the red beams of the
ting sun tinge.,thg tall topcp)£^fk fpr/ssti trees; the birds ..experience
the cravings of hunger,, and to satisfy thorn they must; now labour.
Clumsily do they rise on their columnar lugs, ami .heavily waddle to
the water.; But now, how changed do they seem : Lightly do they
float, as they; marshal themselves, and. extend their line, and now
their broad paddle likc.fcet propel them onwards. In yonder nook,
the small fry are dauc.irig. iu «the quiet watery perhaps in their own
manner bidding farewell to the orb. of day, perhaps seeking, something
for their supper. Thousands there.are, all. gay, and, very manner
of their mirth,, causing, the. waters to%arkle, invites, their foes to advance
toward tlie shoal. And now the Pelicans, aware of the faculties
iof their scaly prey, at once .spread out their broad wings, preSp
closely foWftrd'with powerful strokes; of their feet, drive the little fishes
toward the shallow shore, mid then, with their enormous pouches
spread like so many bag-nets, scoop, them out and devour them in
thousands.
How strange it,is, Reader, that birds of this speeds should be
found breeding in the Eur Countries, at about the same period when
they are to be found on the waters of the inland bays of the Mexican
Gulf ! On the 2d of April 1837,1 met with these birds in abundance at