. The birds of California : a complete, scientific and popular account of the 580 species and subspecies of birds found in the state. Birds; Birds. The White Pelican For eons the great white birds have circled and soared over the desert wastes of interior western America. For genera- tions uncounted they have fished in the salty waters of Lake Lahontan, of Lake Bonneville, and their successors; or they have foregathered ashore in snowy windrows to meditate, to digest, and to gladden withal the retrospective eye of the rare man who, like his Creator, enjoys the simple bliss of the undisturbed w
. The birds of California : a complete, scientific and popular account of the 580 species and subspecies of birds found in the state. Birds; Birds. The White Pelican For eons the great white birds have circled and soared over the desert wastes of interior western America. For genera- tions uncounted they have fished in the salty waters of Lake Lahontan, of Lake Bonneville, and their successors; or they have foregathered ashore in snowy windrows to meditate, to digest, and to gladden withal the retrospective eye of the rare man who, like his Creator, enjoys the simple bliss of the undisturbed wild. The Pelican and the wilderness stand to- gether in their mute appeal. When the one is fully "re- claimed," the other must per- ish. It need not be supposed that these ponderous fowls, the largest of water-birds by avoir- dupois, are to be set down as awkward simply because they have big bills. Viewed at a distance, as they rest on shore or near some low mud island, their stately ranks present a most impressive spectacle. In flight they are calm, almost majestic; and their white plu- mage, set off by black wing-tips, makes a fine showing in the morning sun. They sit the water almost as gracefully as swans, and "tip" in a dignified way, immersing the entire head and neck—again much after the fashion of swans. Being provided, also, with an extensive system of air-sacs, they ride high and get credit for all their inches. Two pictures come most vividly before the mind's eye of the author. One is of a company of about 300 pelicans who daily resorted to the western end of the Salton Sea, then, in 1913, near Mecca. Although the Farallon Cormorants were nesting feverishly, February 1st, the Pelicanos 1962. Taken on Saltoti Sea Photo by the Author A PASSING PLANE. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble
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Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1923
