File:American homes and gardens (1907) (17968847950).jpg

Title: American homes and gardens
Identifier: americanhomesga41907newy (find matches)
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Architecture, Domestic; Landscape gardening
Publisher: New York : Munn and Co
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
MONG the great colonies of birds which still exist in some of the wild lake regions of the western States, none, perhaps, is more re- markable or interesting than the white pelican, striking both on account of its large size and the peculiar appearance that its great bill gives it. Involuntarily, as one views the great birds, either in their native haunts or in the zoological gardens, one wonders how they came to be what they are, from whence the immense bills and the peculiar structures. Our more mod- ern explanations of structural peculiari- ties take account of the advantages that they may offer to their possessors, and recognize the power of evolu- tion as equal to the task of producing such characters as will best serve the needs. The conditions in which a crea- ture lives thus affect its structure, even though it be very slowly, and in some cases the ancestral forms which are plainly traceable to certain species were vastly different from their present-day descendants. In the case of the pelican, however, fossil remains of the species of long ago are prac- tically the same as our present birds. The white pelican has been rather more difficult than the brown one to cultivate acquaintance with. Nevertheless, it has been studied in its home, and its habits in the zoological gardens have been observed. It combines a body that is smaller than its thick coat of feathers would lead one to sup- pose, with lightness of structure and immense wing area in relation to its weight. The expanse of wings of the white pelican is sometimes nine feet. The bones, like those of other creatures, are hollow and light, and the body is pro- vided with interior air-sacs, giving additional lightness and buoyancy. On the water not a third of the body is sub- merged, and it seems to be with difficulty that the birds submerge themselves in diving for their prey. This, how- ever, is not a handicap, since they seem to find an abundant supply of food near the surface. Because they are so buoyant they swim easily, riding the waves for hours, when they so desire. I have seen the brown pelicans plunge head down- ward from a considerable height, striking the water with a resounding whack, like wind-bags, and even then not more than half submerging themselves. On the wing, pelicans are capable of sailing for long stretches, with wings held rigid, and they often skim the water thus, following the undulating contour of the waves. Pelicans secure their prey both by plunging from a height, while flying, and by snatching it up while swimming. The upper mandible is strong, but light, the hooked tip serving as a guard against the escape of fish, while the lower mandible is simply a light frame which sup- ports the pouch. As the bill is opened in grasping the prey the sides of this frame are bowed outwardly by the action of a set of muscles for that purpose, the tip being contracted, and the mandible and pouch becoming a very serviceable dip net. The water is readily expelled from the apertures at the sides, while the upper mandible, resting across the middle of the lower, prevents the escape of the fish. Most very young birds are fed with predigested food re- gurgitated by the parent from its crop, the parent's bill, dur-
Text Appearing After Image:
Characteristic Attitudes Assumed by Pelicans

Note About Images