The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1876-01-29
9ataral 8istorp.
PELIoANs AND ooRMoRANTs.

IN speaking OF the sea birds found In that
vicinity, says that two very characteristic
species of pelicans are found upon that
coast, namely, the rough billed or white
pelican, and the brown, or more properly,
the gray pelican, the former being very
rare, and the latter exceedingly common
The white pelican, too, prefers fresh wa
ter to salt, though found upon both, while
the latter is purely marine in its prefer
ences and habits. There are no more sin
gular birds upon the coast than these same
pelicans, and upon land no bird is more
awkward. Their huge, columnar legs ars
little adapted for walking, and the waddle
OF a duck is poetry compared to theirs
Their heads are thrown awkwardly back
and they seem about to topple over at
every step, but once let them strike the
water and they are different creatures,
Their stout feet then rush them through
the food, their necks wave back and forth
in graceful curves, and their keen eyes
watch for their fnny prey with cagerness
The fishing habits Of these two varieties
are very different from each other.
The great white pelican swins upon the
surface, with his lower mandible immersed
and his huge pouch trailing below like a
scoop-uet, and taking in quarts of small
fry at once. When it is filled to his liking,
the bill is closed, then raised perpendicu-
larly to allow the water to run out, and
then the imprisoned fish are either uncer-
enormously swallowed, still alive, or, ris-
ing into the air, the bird flies heavily away
to feed his mate and young in some dis
tant nest. The brown pelican, on the 9th
er hand, skins lightly over the water, and -,
when it sees fish, dives after it, often
submerging its whole body, aud, as far as
| can discover, seldom using its pouch ex-
cept when it has family to provide for.
Both varieties customarily feed upon small
fish, and over quart are often found in
their stomachs, but occasionally FISH
weighing two or three pounds is success
fully " wrestled' with. Passengers on Pa
cific steamers frequently see large numbers
Of white pelicans following the vessels, but
it has been noticed that they seldom, if
ever, pass Cape St. Lucas, the reason evil
IDENTIFY being the sudden change in tenn
perature always met with there, necessi-
tating a change of the voyagers' clothing,
and evidently forming an insuperablc bar
rier against the progress Of these birds.
The brown pelican's best estate is seen at
and beyond the Golden Gate, particularly
upon Seal Rock and the neighboring small
rocky islands, where, in company with the
cormorants and gulls, these birds perch in
swarms above the sounding waves in the
caves below. The pelican in the wilder
ness is favorite symbol of desolation, and
here the bird is best seen in all his solemn
and silent grandeur. About these crags
he scars and fishes for himself and the pre-
dacious gulls from morning till night, and
as the sun goes down, rises with his CON-
panions and silently flaps into the sunset,
his uncouth form darkly limned against
the western fires; for, in common with
some other varieties Of aquatic birds, at
this time he seeks the open sea, and fold
ing his tired wings upon the waves is rock :
ed to rest in the cradle of the deep"
There are many reasons probably tending
to this action; his foes are near the shore,
the beating surf might disturb his repose,
aud birds, like ships, are safest in the open
sea during gale, for in every storm on
this coast, large numbers of ducks, grebes,
pelicans and gulls, caught upon lee shore,
are wrecked and drowned upon the beach,
and near the Golden Gate the other day,
found several gulls lying dead in a sandy
field remote from the sea, having evidently
been beaten to death in the preceding
nights storm. In the gray dawn of the
morning long lines Of these birds begin to
trail 10 again toward shore, and the effect
OF their sudden appearance from out the
mist Of The sen, their heavy, funereal, bat.
like Hight, and their sudden vanishing in
the mist beyond, is singularly ghostly and
unreal. A curious system of subcutane-
GUS air cells which many swimming birds
possess, gives this species an unusual buoy
ancy in the water, its skin being separated
from the muscles over large part Of their
surface by an interval Of half an inch or
more, occupied by series of air vessels.
The frigate pelican, or man-of-war bird, a
creatureE (Which seems to possess in its
greatest perfection the gift of wings, is
frequently seen soaring high in the air far
out at sea, or pursuing and robbing de-
fenceless boobys, gannets, and other fish
ing birds, and may occasionally even visit
our bay; but its preferences are for more
southern seas, and it viii never be fire.
quent visitor to our shores. No winged
thing can match this species in speed and
lightness of fight, and no other bird seems
TO have been as especially created for a
courier Of the air, for although its body
is less than two feet long, each Of its wings
is over three feet in length, and both, when
spread, extend over seven feet. The speed
they attain is marvellous, easily outstrip-
ping even the swiftest terms, and the pow
er Of the pectorl and dorsal muscles me-
cessary to operate with such rapidity, such
ponderous wings, must be almost incredi-
BILE. II darts upon its prey like a meteor,
aud, when forcing some weak gull to drop
its hnrdlv.enrnad fab oas;ix, aac,,raa (, H.,