Ornithological biography, Vol. 4 (of 5) : $b An account of the habits of the birds of the United States of AmericaAudubon, John James
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Ornithological biography, Vol. 4 (of 5) : $b An account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America
Audubon, John James
Birds -- North America
When, somewhat more than thirty years ago, I first removed to Kentucky,
Pelicans of this species were frequently seen by me on the sand-bars of
the Ohio, and on the rock-bound waters of the rapids of that majestic
river, situated, as you well know, between Louisville and Shippingport.
Nay when, a few years afterwards, I established myself at Henderson,
the White Pelicans were so abundant that I often killed several at a
shot, on a well known sand-bar, which protects Canoe Creek Island.
During those delightful days of my early manhood, how often have I
watched them with delight! Methinks indeed, Reader, those days have
returned to me, as if to enable me the better once more to read the
scattered notes contained in my often-searched journals.
Ranged along the margins of the sand-bar, in broken array, stand a
hundred heavy-bodied Pelicans. Gorgeous tints, all autumnal, enrich the
foliage of every tree around, the reflection of which, like fragments
of the rainbow, seems to fill the very depths of the placid and almost
sleeping waters of the Ohio. The subdued and ruddy beams of the orb
of day assure me that the Indian summer has commenced, that happy
season of unrivalled loveliness and serenity, symbolic of autumnal
life, which to every enthusiastic lover of nature must be the purest
and calmest period of his career. Pluming themselves, the gorged
Pelicans patiently wait the return of hunger. Should one chance to
gape, all, as if by sympathy, in succession open their long and broad
mandibles, yawning lazily and ludicrously. Now, the whole length of
their largest quills is passed through the bill, until at length their
apparel is as beautifully trimmed as if the party were to figure at a
route. But mark, the red beams of the setting sun tinge the tall tops
of the forest trees; the birds experience the cravings of hunger, and
to satisfy them they must now labour. Clumsily do they rise on their
columnar legs, and heavily waddle to the water. But now, how changed
do they seem! Lightly do they float, as they marshal themselves, and
extend their line, and now their broad paddle-like feet propel them
onwards. In yonder nook, the small fry are dancing in the quiet water,
perhaps in their own manner bidding farewell to the orb of day, perhaps
seeking something for their supper. Thousands there are, all gay, and
the very manner of their mirth, causing the waters to sparkle, invites
their foes to advance toward the shoal. And now the Pelicans, aware
of the faculties of their scaly prey, at once spread out their broad
wings, press closely forward with powerful strokes of their feet,
drive the little fishes toward the shallow shore, and then, with their
enormous pouches spread like so many bag-nets, scoop them out and
devour them in thousands.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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