El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-11
PELlCANTOWN.
A Seaside Resort Inhabited by Sew
eraI Thousand Birds.

A Seaside Resort Inhabited By Sew
eral Thousand Birds.
Frank NJ Chapman tells the readers
of ST. Nicholas how and where the pei
leans of Florida build their nests and
breed.
Why is it. he asks. that all the cave
swallows in village place their row of
mud tenements under the roof of a Ger
tain barn2 Every nook in which nest
could be built is occupied by the clay
apartments-not one is ito let"-stlll
none of the birds seem to think of
building under the equally favorable
roof of the neighboring barn Their
cousins. the bank swallows. show the
same strong sociability. and from miles
around they gather to nest in some par
ticular sand bank. the face of which
will be thickly pitted with the en-
frances to their burrows 1t is not
because the place chosen is the only
one available that the birds nest in
Aocks There may be hundreds of barns
and banks just as good as the ones Sc
lected. 1t is not question of food. for
insects are abundant everywhere. and
these strong flying birds can hunt them
over miles of country. 1t is not because
they find safety in numbers. Rather
do they make themselves conspicuous
by gathering in such large bodies As
rule. it is sociability-the desire for
companionship-tha offers the only
reasonable explanation for the great
colonies which may be observed at nest
ing time.
Certainly no other theory will ex-
plain the origin of Pelicantown. Its
SITE like those often selected by human
colonists. seems poorly chosen. Its nat
ural advantages are few. but 80 at
tached to their home are its inhabitants
that even the most cruel persecution
by their human foes has failed to drive
them from the land Of their ancestors
But where is Pelicantown2 In spite
of its population of nearly 8. 900. few
maps will show it.. Glance with me
| therefore at a map Of Florida Find the
Indian river. that long. narrow lagoon
on its east coast. divided from the sea
by only a ribbon of land Pelicantown
| is situated about midway between its
| northern and southern extremities. near
the eastern shore of bay which here
makes the river about three miles wide.
1t is an island. triangular in shape.
| containing about three acres of ground
! A few bushes and low palm trees grow
1
! tangled grass. but at least one-fourth
of its surface is bare sand.
| During the nesting season this barren
island is the home of probably all the
| peiicans of Indian river Here they
| come to build their nests. lay their eggs
and rear their young. and from January
| to May life in Pelicantown presents
many novel scenes.
In March. 1898. l visited this city of
birds. AS my boat approached l saw
signs of life Files of birds were return
ing from fishing expeditions. platoons
were resting on the sandy points. some
were in bathing. others were sailing
about in broad circles high overhead.
| and soon one could hear the sound of
many voices. a medley of strange cries.
1t being quite impossible to count
the birds. | determined to count their
nests. Of which my census showed there
| were no less than $40. but only 251
were occupied. though all had been
built that spring.
The death rate is high in Pelican
town Doubtless many young birds die
through injuries received while trying
to escape from tourists who visit the
island and thoughtlessly chase the
young birds about Eggs and very
young birds are destroyed in hundreds
by fish crows. that daily come over
from the mainland on marauding ex-
petitions 1t is not probable. therefore.
that in many families three young
pelicans live to leave the nest together
hence we may reckon about = pelicans
to each of the deserted nests Add tC
these two parent pelicans to each nest
and we have 3. 5S1 birds on the wing
or on foot But this number is to be in
, creased by the 154 young that were
still in the nests. making the total pop
ulaticn of Pelicantown 2. 735
This calculation. however. does mo-
, take into account the eggs found. from
which almost hourly come new inhab
itants of the island