Birds of America
By John James Audubon,
F. R. SS. L. & E.
VOLUME VII.
THE BROWN PELICAN.
[Brown Pelican.]
PELECANUS FUSCUS, Linn.
[Pelecanus occidentalis.]
PLATE CCCCXXIII.--MALE. PLATE
CCCCXXIV.--YOUNG.
The Brown Pelican, which is one of the most interesting of our American
birds, is a constant resident in the Floridas, where it resorts to the
Keys and the salt-water inlets, but never enters fresh-water streams, as
the White Pelican is wont to do. It is rarely seen farther eastward than
Cape Hatteras, but is found to the south far beyond the limits of the United
States. Within the recollection of persons still living, its numbers have
been considerably reduced, so much indeed that in the inner Bay of Charleston,
where twenty or thirty years ago it was quite abundant, very few individuals
are now seen, and these chiefly during a continuance of tempestuous weather.
There is a naked bar, a few miles distant from the main land, between Charleston
and the mouth of the Santee, on which my friend JOHN BACHMAN some years
ago saw a great number of these birds, of which he procured several; but
at the present day, few are known to breed farther east than the salt-water
inlets running parallel to the coast of Florida, forty or fifty miles south
of St. Augustine, where I for the first time met with this Pelican in considerable
numbers.
My friend JOHN BULOW, Esq. took me in his barge to visit the Halifax,
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 aerial evolutions.
Now, reader, look at those birds standing on their strong legs, on that
burning sand-bar. How dexterously do they wield that great bill of theirs,
as they train 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 awhile, 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 awhile, 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 awhile,
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. 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.
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. BULOW'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 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 gumbo 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 Balacuda. 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 mullet, 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. 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.
Since I wrote my account of the habits of this very interesting bird,
I have followed it westward as far as the inland bays of the Texas, where
I found it almost as abundant as on the coast of the Floridas. In the former
country however, I observed it breeding on the ground, and on the small
naked islets of the large bays margining the Mexican Gulf. The nests were
formed much in the same manner as when placed on trees, and the eggs were
of the same number as stated. Having examined several specimens procured
on the nest, in the act of incubation, I found that the plumage of the
fully adult female is precisely like that of the male; and I am now convinced
that birds of both sexes are several years in acquiring their full plumage,
although the precise number of years is what I have not yet learned. Some
additional observations respecting the habits of this species may now be
stated.
During a severe gale, on the 7th of April, 1836, the wind coming from
the north-west, I saw a flock of about thirty of these birds flying only
a few feet above the water, and against the gale. Having proceeded a few
yards, they plunged into the water, generally to leeward, and threw their
bodies round as soon as their bills were immersed, giving a very curious
appearance to the wings, which seemed as if locked. On seizing a fish they
kept the bill beneath the surface for a short time in a perpendicular direction,
and drew it up gradually, when the water was seen to flow out, after which
they raised the bill to an horizontal position, and swallowed the fish.
In this way the whole flock kept dashing and plunging pell-mell, like Gannets,
over a space of about one hundred yards, fishing at times in the very surf,
and where the water could not be more than a very few feet deep. Each of
them must have caught upwards of a score of fishes. As soon as they were
satisfied, they flew in a line across the channel, and landed on low banks
under the lee of the island, opposite our harbour. During all the time
of their fishing they were attended by a number of Black-headed Gulls,
Larus Atricilla, which followed all their movements, alighting on their
heads, and feeding as I have already described. These Gulls followed their
purveyors to the same low banks to spend the night.
Notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary by some European
writers, I feel perfectly satisfied that these Pelicans must make ample
use of some oily matter contained in the uropygial gland, as their plumage
is always dry in the midst of their continued plungings. On the 14th of
the same month, my party happened to shoot a good number of Brown Pelicans,
among which was one slightly wounded in the body. The sailors tied its
bill with a piece of rope-yarn, and placed it in the stern of the boat;
but while they were again charging their muskets, the bird recovered sufficiently
to take to its wings, clear the boat, and fly off. In such a condition
it must necessarily have perished, of hunger.
PELECANUS FUSCUS, Bonap. Syn., p. 401.
BROWN PELICAN, Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 476.
BROWN PELICAN, Pelecanus fuscus, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. iii. p. 376;vol.
v. p. 212.
Adult, 52, 80.
Very abundant and constantly resident from Texas along the shores eastward
to North Carolina. Breeds on trees and also on the ground; eggs three.
Adult Male.
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, 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 hair-like 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 lbs. 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 lbs. 12 oz.
Young.
Bill greyish-blue, its edges and unguis greyish-yellow; gular pouch
dull greyish-blue. Iris brownish-yellow; bare space around the eye of a
dusky bluish tint, the feathers margining it yellowish-white. The feathers
of the head and neck are less downy than in the adult, and those on the
sides of the latter less elongated or pointed. The head and neck are dark
brown, as are the upper parts generally; the secondary and many of the
smaller coverts margined with pale brown; the primaries and their coverts
as well as the tail-coverts brownish-black, with white shafts. Feet and
claws dull leaden colour.
In an adult female preserved in spirits the general peculiarities of
the organization are the same as those described in the American White
Pelican. THE MANGROVE.
RHIZOPHORA MANGLE, Linn., Syst. Nat., vol. ii. p. 325.
The species of mangrove represented in the plate is very abundant along
the coast of Florida and on almost all the Keys, excepting the Tortugas.
Those islands which are named Wet Keys are entirely formed of mangroves,
which, raising their crooked and slender stems from a bed of mud, continue
to increase until their roots and pendent branches afford shelter to the
accumulating debris, when the earth is gradually raised above the surface
of the water. No sooner has this taken place than the mangroves in the
central part of the island begin to decay, and in the course of time there
is only an outer fringe or fence of trees, while the interior becomes overgrown
with grass and low bushes. Meantime the mangroves extend towards the sea,
their hanging branches taking root wherever they come in contact with the
bottom, and their seeds also springing up. I am at a loss for an object
with which to compare these trees, in order to afford you an idea of them;
yet if you will figure to yourself a tree reversed, and standing on its
summit, you may obtain a tolerable notion of their figure and mode of growth.
The stem, roots and branches are very tough and stubborn, and in some places
the trees are so intertwined that a person might find it as easy to crawl
over them as to make his way between them. They are evergreen, and their
tops afford a place of resort to various species of birds at all seasons,
while their roots and submerged branches give shelter to numberless testaceous
mollusca and small fishes. The species represented is rarely observed on
the coast of Florida of a greater height than twenty-five or thirty feet,
and its average height is not above fifteen feet. The land mangrove, of
which I have seen only a few, the finest of which were on Key West, is
a tall tree, much larger and better shaped than the other, with narrower
leaves and shorter fruits.
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