. The American natural history : a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America . Natural history. 286 OEDEES OF BIEDS—FULLY-WEBBED SWIMMEES Truly they are fine birds,—rich in coloring, remarkably odd in form, and very well set up. Unfortunately they do not acquire their full colors until in their third year. The neck of the adult bird is in two colors, rich blackish-brown and white, and the back is a beautiful silvery gray-brown effect, composed of many tints. The top of the head of the adult bird is yellow. The bill is a foot long, the pouch is of a bluish-purple. Ne
. The American natural history : a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America . Natural history. 286 OEDEES OF BIEDS—FULLY-WEBBED SWIMMEES Truly they are fine birds,—rich in coloring, remarkably odd in form, and very well set up. Unfortunately they do not acquire their full colors until in their third year. The neck of the adult bird is in two colors, rich blackish-brown and white, and the back is a beautiful silvery gray-brown effect, composed of many tints. The top of the head of the adult bird is yellow. The bill is a foot long, the pouch is of a bluish-purple. New York Zoological WHITE PELICAN. color, and calls for about four pounds of fish daily. It is very interesting to watch Pelicans fishing. On calm days when the surface of Indian River is like a mirror, the eruption of silvery spray that rises high when the big bird plunges into the water, attracts attention at a distance of two or three miles. It is finest, however, to see them fishing in the breakers on the ocean side of the Indian River Peninsula, about 200 feet from shore. They sail along so near the water it seems a wonder it does not strike them; but they rise over the incoming waves, and lower again into the trough with the utmost precision, always keenly alert. All of a sudden, the wings are thrown out of gear, and a fountain of flying spray tells the story of the plunge with open pouch for the luckless fish. For several years the fate of the great Pelican colony in Indian River has been in doubt, and its preservation has been due more to public sentiment in Brevard County than to the arm of the law. In 1903, however, Pelican Island was formally declared to be a government reservation, and placed under the absolute control of the Biological Survey, thus insuring the permanent protection of its occupants. The California Brown Pelican1 so closely resembles the Florida species that the differences between the two are not easily recognized. The accompanying il- lus
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