which is a large inlet, and on which we soon reached an island where
the Brown Pelicans had bred for a number of years, but where, to my
great disappointment, none were then to be seen. The next morning,
being ten or twelve miles farther down the stream, we entered another
inlet, where I saw several dozens of these birds perched on the
mangroves, and apparently sound asleep. I shot at them from a very
short distance, and with my first barrel brought two to the water,
but although many of them still remained looking at us, I could
not send the contents of my second barrel to them, as the shot had
unluckily been introduced into it before the powder. They all flew
off one after another, and still worse, as the servants approached
those which had fallen upon the water, they also flew away.
On arriving at the Keys of Florida, on board the Marion Revenue Cutter,
I found the Pelicans pretty numerous. They became more abundant the
farther south we proceeded, and I procured specimens at different
places, but nowhere so many as at Key West. There you would see them
flying within pistol-shot of the wharfs, the boys frequently trying to
knock them down with stones, although I believe they rarely succeed
in their efforts. The Marion lay at anchor several days at a short
distance from this island, and close to another. Scarcely an hour of
daylight passed without our having Pelicans around us, all engaged at
their ordinary occupations, some fishing, some slumbering as it were
on the bosom of the ocean, or on the branches of the mangroves. This
place and all around for about forty miles, seemed to be favourite
resorts of these birds; and as I had excellent opportunities of
observing their habits, I consider myself qualified to present you
with some account of them.
The flight of the Brown Pelican, though to appearance heavy, is
remarkably well sustained, that bird being able not only to remain
many hours at a time on wing, but also to mount to a great height in
the air to perform its beautiful evolutions. Their ordinary manner of
proceeding, either when single or in flocks, is by easy flappings and
sailings alternating at distances of from twenty to thirty yards, when
they glide along with great speed. They move in an undulated line,
passing at one time high, at another low, over the water or land, for
they do not deviate from their course on coming upon a key or a point
of land. When the waves run high, you may see them “troughing,” as
the sailors say, or directing their course along the hollows. While
on wing they draw in their head between their shoulders, stretch out
their broad webbed feet to their whole extent, and proceed in perfect
silence.
When the weather is calm, and a flood of light and heat is poured
down upon nature by the genial sun, they are often, especially during
the love season, seen rising in broad circles, flock after flock,
until they attain a height of perhaps a mile, when they gracefully
glide on constantly expanded wings, and course round each other, for
an hour or more at a time, after which, in curious zigzags, and with
remarkable velocity, they descend towards their beloved element,
and settle on the water, on large sand-bars or on mangroves. It is
interesting beyond description to observe flocks of Brown Pelicans
thus going through their aërial evolutions.
Now, Reader, look at those birds standing on their strong column-like
legs, on that burning sand-bar. How dexterously do they wield that
great bill of theirs, as they trim their plumage! Now along each broad
quill it passes, drawing it out and displaying its elasticity; and now
with necks stretched to their full length, and heads elevated, they
direct its point in search of the insects that are concealed along
their necks and breasts. Now they droop their wings for a while, or
stretch them alternately to their full extent; some slowly lie down
on the sand, others remain standing, quietly draw their head over
their broad shoulders, raise one of their feet, and placing their bill
on their back, compose themselves to rest. There let them repose in
peace. Had they alighted on the waters, you might have seen them, like
a fleet at anchor, riding on the ever-rolling billows as unconcernedly
as if on shore. Had they perched on yon mangroves, they would have
laid themselves flat on the branches, or spread their wings to the
sun or the breeze, as Vultures are wont to do.
But see, the tide is advancing; the billows chase each other towards
the shores; the mullets joyful and keen leap along the surface, as
they fill the bays with their multitudes. The slumbers of the Pelicans
are over; the drowsy birds shake their heads, stretch open their
mandibles and pouch by way of yawning, expand their ample wings, and
simultaneously soar away. Look at them as they fly over the bay; listen
to the sound of the splash they make as they drive their open bills,
like a pock-net, into the sea, to scoop up their prey; mark how they
follow that shoal of porpoises, and snatch up the frightened fishes
that strive to escape from them. Down they go, again and again. What
voracious creatures they are!
The Brown Pelicans are as well aware of the time of each return of
the tide, as the most watchful pilots. Though but a short time before
they have been sound asleep, yet without bell or other warning, they
suddenly open their eyelids, and all leave their roosts, the instant
when the waters, which have themselves reposed for a while, resume
their motion. The Pelicans possess a knowledge beyond this, and in a
degree much surpassing that of man with reference to the same subject:
they can judge with certainty of the changes of weather. Should you
see them fishing all together, in retired bays, be assured, that a
storm will burst forth that day; but if they pursue their finny prey
far out at sea, the weather will be fine, and you also may launch your
bark and go to the fishing. Indeed, most sea-birds possess the same
kind of knowledge, as I have assured myself by repeated observation,
in a degree corresponding to their necessities; and the best of all
prognosticators of the weather, are the Wild Goose, the Gannet, the
Lestris, and the Pelican.
This species procures its food on wing, and in a manner quite
different from that of the White Pelican. A flock will leave their
resting place, proceed over the waters in search of fish, and when a
shoal is perceived, separate at once, when each, from an elevation of
from fifteen to twenty-five feet, plunges in an oblique and somewhat
winding direction, spreading to the full stretch its lower mandible
and pouch, as it reaches the water, and suddenly scoops up the object
of its pursuit, immersing the head and neck, and sometimes the body,
for an instant. It immediately swallows its prey, rises on wing,
dashes on another fish, seizes and devours it, and thus continues,
sometimes plunging eight or ten times in a few minutes, and always
with unerring aim. When gorged, it rests on the water for a while,
but if it has a brood, or a mate sitting on her eggs, it flies off
at once towards them, no matter how heavily laden it may be. The
generally received idea that Pelicans keep fish or water in their
pouch, to convey them to their young, is quite erroneous. The water
which enters the pouch when it is immersed, is immediately forced out
between the partially closed mandibles, and the fish, unless larger
than those on which they usually feed, is instantly swallowed, to be
afterwards disgorged for the benefit of the young, either partially
macerated, or whole, according to the age and size of the latter. Of
all this I have satisfied myself, when within less than twenty yards
of the birds as they were fishing; and I never saw them fly without
the pouch being closely contracted towards the lower mandible. Indeed,
although I now much regret that I did not make the experiment when I
had the means of doing so, I doubt very much if a Pelican could fly
at all with its burden so much out of trim, as a sailor would say.
They at times follow the porpoise, when that animal is in pursuit of
prey, and as the fishes rise from the deep water towards the surface,
come in cunningly for their share, falling upon the frightened shoal,
and seizing one or more, which they instantly gobble up. But one of
the most curious traits of the Pelican is, that it acts unwittingly
as a sort of purveyor to the Gulls just as the Porpoise acts towards
itself. The Black-headed Gull of WILSON, which is abundant along the
coast of the Floridas in spring and summer, watches the motions of the
Pelicans. The latter having plunged after a shoal of small fishes,
of which it has caught a number at a time, in letting off the water
from amongst them, sometimes allows a few to escape; but the Gull
at that instant alights on the bill of the Pelican, or on its head,
and seizes the fry at the moment they were perhaps congratulating
themselves on their escape. This every body on board the Marion
observed as well as myself, while that vessel was at anchor in the
beautiful harbour of Key West, so that it is not again necessary for
me to lay before you a certificate with numerous signatures. To me
such sights were always highly interesting, and I doubt if in the
course of my endeavours to amuse you, I ever felt greater pleasure
than I do at this moment, when, with my journal at my side, and the
Gulls and Pelicans in my mind’s eye as distinctly as I could wish, I
ponder on the faculties which Nature has bestowed on animals which
we merely consider as possessed of instinct. How little do we yet
know of the operations of the Divine Power! On the occasions just
mentioned, the Pelicans did not manifest the least anger towards the
Gulls. It is said that the Frigate Pelican or Man-of-war Bird, forces
the Brown Pelican to disgorge its food, but of this I never saw an
instance; nor do I believe it to be the case, considering the great
strength and powerful bill of the Pelican compared with those of the
other bird. Indeed, if I had been told that when the Frigate Bird
assails the Pelican, the latter opens its large pouch and swallows it
entire, I might as soon have believed the one story as the other. But
of this more anon, when we come to the habits of the bird in question.
On the ground this species is by no means so active, for it walks
heavily, and when running, which it now and then does while in play,
or during courtship, it looks extremely awkward, as it then stretches
out its neck, partially extends its wings, and reels so that one
might imagine it ready to fall at each step. If approached when
wounded and on the water, it swims off with speed, and when overtaken,
it suddenly turns about, opens its large bill, snaps it violently
several times in succession, causing it to emit a smart noise in
the manner of owls, strikes at you, and bites very severely. While I
was at Mr BULLOW’s, his Negro hunter waded after one whose wing had
been broken. The Pelican could not be seized without danger, and I
was surprised to see the hunter draw his butcher’s knife, strike the
long blade through the open pouch of the bird, hook it, as it were,
by the lower mandible, and at one jerk swing it up into the air with
extreme dexterity, after which he broke its neck and dragged it ashore.
The pouch measures from six to ten inches in depth, according to the
age of the bird after the first moult. The superb male whose portrait
is before you, and which was selected from among a great number, had
it about the last mentioned size, and capable of holding a gallon
of water, were the mandibles kept horizontal. This membrane is dried
and used for keeping snuff, gunpowder and shot. When fresh it may be
extended so as to become quite thin and transparent, like a bladder.
This Pelican seldom seizes fish that are longer than its bill, and the
size of those on which it ordinarily feeds is much smaller. Indeed,
several which I examined, had in the stomach upwards of a hundred
fishes, which were only from two to three inches in length. That
organ is long, slender, and rather fleshy. In some I found a great
number of live blue-coloured worms, measuring two and a half inches
in length, and about the thickness of a crow-quill. The gut is about
the size of a swan’s quill, and from ten to twelve feet in length,
according to the age of the individual.
At all periods the Brown Pelican keeps in flocks, seldom amounting to
more than fifty or sixty individuals of both sexes, and of different
ages. At the approach of the pairing time, or about the middle of
April, the old males and females separate from the rest, and remove
to the inner keys or to large estuaries, well furnished with mangroves
of goodly size. The young birds, which are much more numerous, remain
along the shores of the open sea, unless during heavy gales.
Now let us watch the full grown birds. Some skirmishes have taken
place, and the stronger males, by dint of loud snappings of their
bill, some hard tugs of the neck and head, and some heavy beats with
their wings, have driven away the weaker, which content themselves
with less prized belles. The females, although quiet and gentle on
ordinary occasions, are more courageous than the males, who, however,
are assiduous in their attentions, assist in forming the nest, feed
their mates while sitting, and even share the labour of incubation
with them. Now see the mated birds, like the citizens of a newly laid
out town in some part of our western country, breaking the dry sticks
from the trees, and conveying them in their bills to yon mangrove
isle. You see they place all their mansions on the south-west side,
as if to enjoy the benefit of all the heat of that sultry climate.
Myriads of mosquitoes buzz around them, and alight on the naked
parts of their body, but this seems to give them no concern. Stick
after stick is laid, one crossing another, until a strong platform is
constructed. Now roots and withered plants are brought, with which
a basin is formed for the eggs. Not a nest, you observe, is placed
very low; the birds prefer the tops of the mangroves, although they
do not care how many nests are on one tree, or how near the trees are
to each other. The eggs, of which there are never more than three,
are rather elliptical, and average three inches and one-eighth in
length, by two inches and one-eighth in their greatest breadth. The
shell is thick and rather rough, of a pure white colour, with a few
faint streaks of a rosy tint, and blotches of a very pale hue, from
the centre towards the crown of the egg.
The young are at first covered with cream-coloured down, and have
the bill and feet disproportionately large. They are fed with great
care, and so abundantly, that the refuse of their food, putrid and
disgusting, lies in great quantities round them; but neither young
nor old regard this, however offensive it may be to you. As the
former grow the latter bring larger fish to them. At first the food
is dropped in a well macerated state into their extended throats;
afterwards the fish is given to them entire; and finally the parent
birds merely place it on the edge of the nest. The young increase in
size at a surprising rate. When half fledged they seem a mere mass of
fat, their partially indurated bill has acquired considerable length,
their wings droop by their sides, and they would be utterly unable
to walk. The Vultures at this period often fall upon them and devour
them in the absence of their parents. The Indians also carry them
off in considerable numbers; and farther eastward, on the Halifax
river, for instance, the Negroes kill all they can find, to make gombo
soup of them during winter. The crows, less powerful, but quite as
cunning, suck the eggs; and many a young one which has accidentally
fallen from the nest, is sure to be picked up by some quadruped, or
devoured by the Shark or Balacouda. When extensive depredations have
thus been made, the birds abandon their breeding places, and do not
return to them. The Pelicans in fact are, year after year, retiring
from the vicinity of man, and although they afford but very unsavoury
food at any period of their lives, will yet be hunted beyond the
range of civilization, just as our best of all game, the Wild Turkey,
is now, until to meet with them the student of nature will have to
sail round Terra del Fuego, while he may be obliged to travel to the
Rocky Mountains before he find the other bird. Should you approach
a settlement of the Pelicans and fire a few shots at them, they all
abandon the place, and leave their eggs or young entirely at your
disposal.
At all seasons, the Negroes of the plantations on the eastern coast
of the Floridas lie in wait for the Pelicans. There, observe that
fellow, who, with rusty musket, containing a tremendous charge of heavy
shot, is concealed among the palmettoes, on the brink of a kind of
embankment formed by the shelly sand. Now comes a flock of Pelicans,
forcing their way against the breeze, unaware of the danger into which
they rush, for there, a few yards apart, several Negroes crouch in
readiness to fire; and let me tell you, good shots they are. Now a
blast forces the birds along the shore; off goes the first gun, and
down comes a Pelican; shot succeeds shot; and now the Negroes run up
to gather the spoil. They skin the birds like so many racoons, cut
off the head, wings and feet; and should you come this way next year,
you may find these remains bleached in the sun. Towards night, the
sable hunters carry off their booty, marching along in Indian file,
and filling the air with their extemporaneous songs. At home they
perhaps salt, or perhaps smoke them; but in whatever way the Pelicans
are prepared, they are esteemed good food by the sons of Africa.
The Brown Pelican is a strong and tough bird, although not so weighty
as the white species. Its flesh is, in my opinion, always impure. It
seems never satisfied with food, and it mutes so profusely, that not a
spot of verdure can be seen on the originally glossy and deep-coloured
mangroves on which it nestles; and I must say that, much as I admire
it in some respects, I should be sorry to keep it near me as a pet.
During winter, when the mullets, a favourite fish with the Brown
Pelican, as it is with me, retires into deeper water, these birds
advance farther to seaward, and may be seen over all parts of the
Gulf of Mexico, and between the Florida Reefs and the opposite isles,
especially during fine weather. They are very sensible to cold, and
in this respect are tender birds. Now and then, at this season, they
are seen on Lake Borgne and over Lake Pontchartrain, but never on
the Mississippi beyond the rise of the tides, the space higher up
being abandoned to the White Pelican. The keenness of their sight is
probably equal to that of any hawk, and their hearing is also very
acute. They are extremely silent birds, but when excited they utter
a loud and rough grunt, which is far from musical. The young take two
years to attain maturity. Several persons in the Floridas assured me
that the Brown Pelicans breed at all seasons of the year; but as I
observed nothing to countenance such an idea, I would give it as my
opinion that they raise only one brood in the season.
Their bodies are greatly inflated by large air-cells; their bones,
though strong, are very light; and they are tough to kill.
PELECANUS FUSCUS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 215.—_Lath._
Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 883.—_Ch. Bonaparte_, Synops. of
Birds of the United States, p. 401.
BROWN PELICAN, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p. 476.
Adult Male. Plate CCLI.
Bill more than twice the length of the head, rather stout, straight,
depressed towards the end. Upper mandible with the dorsal line straight
as far as the unguis, the ridge broad and convex, separated from the
side by a groove on each side, broader and more convex at the base,
narrowed and flattened towards the unguis, which is curved, stout,
convex above, sharp-edged, acute; sides of the bill perpendicular
at the base, narrowed towards the middle, widened and approaching
to horizontal towards the end; edges sharp, with a broad furrowed
groove beneath for the reception of those of the lower mandible.
Lower mandible with the angle extending to less than half an inch
from the tip, and filled by a bare membrane, the sides nearly erect
and convex, the edges sharp, the tip compressed, deflected, obtuse.
The membrane of the lower mandible extends down the fore neck in the
form of a wrinkled pouch.
Head of moderate size, oblong; neck long, stout; body rather slender.
Feet short, stout, nearly central; tibia bare at its lower part,
covered all round with small scales; tarsus short, stout, compressed,
covered all round with hexagonal scales, of which the anterior are much
larger; toes in the same plane, all connected by reticulated webs,
the first shortest, the third and fourth nearly equal, reticulate
at the base, scutellate along the rest of the upper surface, claws
short, strong, curved, rather acute, that of hind toe with a sharp
pectinate inner edge.
Feathers of the head and neck exceedingly small and slender, of the
fore part of the head stiff, hair-like and glossy; of the upper middle
part of the neck behind a little larger and soft, forming a slight
longitudinal crest; of the sides and hind part of the neck soft and
downy. The feathers of the upper parts in general are remarkably
small, narrow, tapering to a point; of the lower part of the neck
stiff and pointed, of the breast and sides somewhat larger than
those above, and softer. Wings long, rounded; primaries much curved,
with strong square shafts; the second longest, the third very little
shorter, the first a little longer than the fifth, secondaries very
numerous, rather small, rounded, the inner longer and more tapering.
Tail short, slightly rounded, of twenty-two feathers.
Bill greyish-white, tinged with brown, and marked with irregular spots
of pale carmine; upper mandible dusky towards the end, lower blackish
from the middle to near the end. Bare space between the bill and the
eye deep blue; eyelids pink; iris white. Feet black. The gular pouch
is greenish-black, the ridges of its wrinkles lighter. The hairlike
feathers on the fore part of the head light yellow, the rest of the
head white; a stripe of the same margining the pouch to the middle of
the neck, and extending a little beyond, a short space between these
two lines anteriorly, and the whole of the posterior and lateral
parts of the neck of a dark chestnut brown, the small crest paler.
The back and wings are dusky, each feather with the central part
greyish-white; the latter colour prevails on the scapulars and larger
wing-coverts. Primaries and their coverts brownish-black, secondaries
greyish-brown, their outer edges greyish-white; tail light grey;
the shafts of the quills and tail-feathers are white in their basal
half, black towards the end. The lower parts are brownish-grey; the
sides of the neck and body with narrow longitudinal white lines. On
the fore neck, below the dark chestnut spot is a smaller pale yellow
mark, behind which the feathers for a short space are blackish-brown.
Length to end of tail 52 inches, to end of wings 52, to end of claws
53-1/4; extent of wings 80; bill along the ridge 13-1/4, along the edge
of lower mandible 14-1/4; depth of gular pouch 10, its extent along the
neck 13; wing from flexure 24; tail 7; tarsus 2-1/2; middle toe 3-11/12,
its claw 9/12. Weight 6 lb. 4-1/2 oz.
The Female, which is considerably larger, resembles the male in colour,
only that the neck is yellowish-white in its whole extent, without
any brown, and its feathers are stiff and not downy as in the male.
Weight 7 lb. 12 oz.
THE MANGROVE.
RHIZOPHORA MANGLE, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. ii. p. 325.