Oh, a wondrous bird is the Pelican!

That a line from Dixon L Merritt (1879-1972), quite playful that one. The complete poem reads

"Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican!
His bill holds more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Enough food for a week.
But I'm darned if I know how the helican."

The pelicans are indeed famous for their bills/ beaks, infact it is what distinguishes Pelicans from other birds the distinctive pouch under the beak which they fill with gulps of water, strain out the liquid, and eat the remaining fish or squid. Pelican is from Greek word for axe denoting its big beak (Australian pelicans have longest beak of any bird in the world). The interesting fact here is that this ancient Greek term was taken by the Latin in the ancient bible. Why pelicans?. Well there are myths about pelicans -they were seen as little metaphors on the life of Jesus Christ. Pelicans are considered symbol of self-sacrifice as they are believed to feed their own blood to young chicks when no other food is available (reality though is that certain species of pelicans get blood red marks on the pouch and also they mostly rest their bills on the breast, giving an impression of stabbing itself. I love myths!!). Another version of this is that the pelican used to kill its young and then resurrect them with its blood, this being analogous to the sacrifice of Jesus. The pelican also provides another symbol for Jesus who allowed soldiers to spear at his heart so that man might live. So yes Church does take Pelicans seriously but that didn’t stop people from hunting it and were listed as endangered, now though they are making a remarkable come back (the Californian brown pelican that became almost extinct in 1960s due to DDT has started to recover after DDT was banned. Recently there were reports of hundreds of these pelicans dying due toxin algae along the south Californian coast; some think its demoic acid in phytoplankton, others blame it one low fish stock, while others on changing weather!).

There are seven species of pelicans in the world. The pelicans can be divided into two groups: those with mostly white adult plumage, which nest on the ground (Australian, Dalmatian, Great white, and American White Pelicans), and those with gray or brown plumage, which nest in trees (Pink backed, Spot billed and Brown, plus the Peruvian pelican, which nests on sea rocks) The smallest is the Brown Pelican and the largest is Dalmatian pelican (with a wing span of almost 11ft). In Indian subcontinent the pelicans found are Spot billed.

Pelicans are amazing birds in the sense that on the ground they look so large and bulky but are excellent fliers, infact they can fly for 24 hours at a stretch covering hundreds of Kms at above 1000m with speeds up to 56Km/hour (that is nearly a Km a minute). They use air thermals and so don’t flap very often. Aren’t they amazing!.

The feeding habits of Pelicans have been in controversy in recent times. Although Pelicans prefer fish and other aquatic creatures, they are described as “eclectic carnivore”. Here are some lines from blogs I took. There is also discussion regarding a very infamous case of pelican gulping pigeon in a Park at UK. Then there is a very amusing exchange over whether Pelicans eat dog!!.

*I’ve always had a deep respect for the pelicans of this world. Sitting on a park bench quietly eating my picnic lunch (a meat pie from a wonderful bakery across the road) it was quite disconcerting to have an Australian Pelican waddle up and stand only a metre in front of us and eyeball us - or at least our lunch

*The video clip of the pelican taking a pigeon shows that they will - in desperation - eat something like that. I’m not surprised that the story of dogs being taken by pelicans is a myth.. I have been rescuing and caring for pelicans for over 15 years and have heard the story a thousand times of the person who knew the person who lost the chihuahua to the pelican……

*This is not an isolated incident. Years ago I heard of a rogue pelican at Renmark, about an hour’s drive upstream from Waikerie. This pelican had been harassing people have picnics on the lawns in front of the hotel. There was even a report of a small dog being eaten by this pelican.

*I have had 1013 pelicans, a metre from my face, and have yet to find a ‘rogue’ pelican. Yes, some are a little more aggressive than others. In the case of your Renmark story, my information has it that people have been feeding the pelicans at that location and the birds have become accustomed to humans. Any birder worth his/her salt would know that feeding wild birds is a no-no.
As for eating small dogs… hahaha… there is a bloke in every coastal pub on the East Coast, who can tell you the story of the pelican who ate the chihuahua! There is even a book titled, “Pelicans, Chihuahuas and Other Urban Myths”. And that is just what it is… a myth.
Regards
Lance Ferris

*Australian Seabird RescueOn the pelican “urban myth” I am a little more skeptical. I have not heard of the book you mention but at least one well respected birding identity has emailed me saying that the story of the dog is true. And that a vet she knew told her of the incident on the Gold Coast. I guess that is how urban myths start - all it needs is an ‘authority’ - in this case a vet - to say it is true. Whether fact or fiction, it sure makes a good yarn with a typically Aussie spin. Some overseas visitors must go home from Australia totally confused!

*Hahaha.. a lady phoned the other day, concerned about walking her chihuahua along a beach where there were three pelicans. Jokingly, I told her to tie a house brick around the neck of the dog, so the pelican’s wouldn’t eat it.
Only problem was, that she said, “Thanks very much” … and hung up! I still have nightmares of a tiny dog dragging a brick up the beach.
No way a pelican can swallow a dog. And the latest… only last week, a young man told me he SAW a SEAGULL swallow a chihuahua!

*The video of the pelican eating the pigeon, was taken in the grounds of a park in the UK. The bird is a European Pelican, and if you look closely, part of its left wing is missing. These birds were given to the Queen in the 1800’s by a king in Europe, as a gift. As for the vet with the ‘evidence’ of the pelican swallowing a dog, only last week, one chap said he even had photos of the pelican swallowing the dog. Oddly enough, he couldn’t find them… hmmm. Fiction, my friend

*Thanks for the information about the Pelican. This story just adds more intrigue to the stories about pelicans. That pigeon must really been annoying - or it looked very tasty. It probably saved the pelican the trouble of going fishing.

So there much maligned Pelicans, suffice to add here that Pelicans mostly prefer fish. White Pelican is the national bird of Romania, while brown pelican is the state bird of Louisiana (US) and Sindh (Pakistan) has spot billed pelican as its state bird (in India though no state has Pelican as state bird…which is surprising). In Minnesota (USA) there is a huge statue of Pelican that can be seen even from Broadway Bridge. Snaps taken at Kokkre Bellur (Karnataka).

Elegant Spoonbills

Spoonbills could easily be mistaken for egrets since they are flawless white. But they are one of the easiest to identify. They are bigger with black legs and of course characteristic spoon shaped black colored bills that have yellow tips. The wide bill swoops through the water, it automatically snaps shut whenever it comes in contact with a food item which is then swallowed, long legs help to wade trough water. During the breeding season they carry a crest as also a yellow breast patch.

Infact the spoonbills are classified according to the region and they are found almost everywhere around the world with some variations. Eurasian spoonbills are the one that migrate to India and therefore commonly found in this subcontinent where they breed abundantly. African spoonbills in contrast have reddish face and legs. Roseate spoonbills found in American subcontinent are spectacular looking birds- rich pink, deepening in some parts into crimson, of nearly all its plumage, together with the yellowish green of its bare head and lake-colored legs, is a must watch (this blogger has seen them only on Net). Royal spoonbills are found in Australia (the Maoris call it kotuku ngutu papa). In Britain till last century spoonbills were referred to as Shovelers. Spoonbills are closely related to ibis and storks. Many countries (more than 20 countries, that is amazing) have honored Spoonbills by coming out with stamps on them. Here one by Netherlands.

Spoonbills breed in societies, not only of their own kind, but in company of Herons and ibises, either on trees or in reed-beds, making large nests. They like most birds feed the young by regurgitation. They are found mostly near water bodies and marshy lands. The bird feeds actively in the mornings and evenings. The flock wades into shallow water and with outstretched necks, obliquely held partly open bills the birds move forward sweeping in a half circle from side to side raking up the bottom mud with the tip of its mandibles. They rest in afternoons and stay together and move about lethargically without feeding. At times they stand immobile. Most of them go to sleep standing on one leg twisting their pliant necks right round to bring the bill to rest in the pile of feathers covering their shoulders and backs. At times it is seen two birds stand side-by-side each resting its bill on the back of its neighbor!!. Quite a sight that one.

This painting taken from the Net done by John James Audubon. Audubon was legendary American Ornithologist (as also natural historian and painter). Infact he has been quoted by none other than Darwin in Origin of Species (what more can one say). Audubon’s Birds of America is considered as greatest examples of work of art. A contemporary French critic wrote, "A magic power transported us into the forests which for so many years this man of genius has trod. Learned and ignorant alike were astonished at the spectacle...". Audubon said once "I never for a day gave up listening to the songs of our birds, or watching their peculiar habits, or delineating them in the best way I could”. There is another line of his I came across in the net “A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children”. Amazing man.

Trying disparately to watch Roseate spoonbills a nature photographer writes in his blogs: we discovered from the book, a roseate spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja), a large pink and white wading bird with a shovel-shaped yellow bill it uses to poke around in shallow water and mud looking for insects, crustaceans and small fish. It became the bird we most wanted to see. Over the next several years on visits to the Everglades, Corkscrew Swamp and numerous Florida state and county parks my birding wife spotted and pointed out to me practically every kind of egret, ibis, heron, sandpiper, tern, gull and woodpecker found in Florida along with bald eagles, owls, hawks, ducks, songbirds and anything else with feathers. She knows her birds, and, through her, I’m learning them too. The list grew: ruddy turnstone, scrub jay, pileated woodpecker, carolina wren… but no roseate spoonbill. Every year as we drove down to Florida we’d say to each other, maybe this year we’ll see a spoonbill. Every year… no luck. Once or twice a friend would claim to have spotted one. Did we believe the claim? Of course we did, but… Finally we began referring to it as “the mythical roseate spoonbill.”….
So then what happened?. Well… they had to wait for seven years to finally spot their Roseate Spoonbill. These are the kinds of stories legend of bird watching are made of.

Another incident from a blog here about a birdwatcher having a chuckle at somebody’s expense. While waiting for the Spoonbills to wander back my way I had a bit of a chuckle when some passersby stopped to ask if the pink birds were Flamingos. The driver seemed a bit put off when I replied "No, they are Roseate Spoonbills" by responding to my answer with disappointment in her voice, just saying "Oh" and driving on down the road. Too many plastic Flamingos in yards around the state, I guess.

Last one from a blog that indicates the impact spoonbills could have: I must admit that the spoonbills are amongst my favorite birds. Every time I see a spoonbill it gives me great pleasure. In fact, this species was in part responsible for me becoming a birder in the first place. Back in October 1977 I took my family camping to Chambers Gorge in the Flinders Ranges...
I couldn’t have agreed more they are such spectacular birds.

PS. In Hindi Spoonbills are referred to as chamach baz, chamach being spoon in Hindi. Snaps taken at Ranganathita near Mysore. Here is a painting by Betty Salter 'Spoonbills on Waimea Estuary '

The humble Crow

If you ask anyone how many birds they can identify crow would most probably top the list, the reason I thought of starting this blog with humble crow. Crows are the commonest bird found around the world except in New Zealand. There are 40odd varieties of them under genus Corvus from Jackdaw to Raven even the Tree pie belongs to this family. In India we find house crows- that wear an ash grey collar (the one you see in the snap above, something you have seen umpteen numbers of times, so much so we fail to notice) and Jungle crows (large billed crows) that are large and glossy black with thick bills. Hawks are daytime predators of crows while at night it is owl. The reason why crows will fiercely mob them, particularly owl if ever found at daytime.

Most people find crows noisy and irritating (the English term “crow over” means brag very loudly). On the contrary crows are quite enterprising birds and known for its intelligence, sometimes even showing contempt for human species “yah so you think you can hit me. I will wait here till you aim and throw. Then skip a step. There you miss again”. The first bird I hear in the morning are crows (occasional lapwing too while I am traveling) and last bird I hear as the sunsets is bunch of cantankerous crows creating a ruckus as they try settling on the tree for the night. Incidentally a group of crows are referred to as a “murder”-not a scientific term has origin in literature. Unfair I feel got to do with its scavenging nature. We all have read Aesop’s tale of crow and the pitcher. There are many recorded incidences of crow’s intelligence and adaptability. Like for instance the Caledonian crows drop seeds onto road and wait for cars to crush it open!!. Probably one of the very few crows that has been honored with a stamp. They are also known to create tools from twigs and sticks (check few in youtube and other videos). American writer Henry Beecher once said “If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows”. Absolutely!!.

Though even the intelligent crow has a fall from grace as Koel (Cuckoos) fool them regularly by laying her eggs in its nest. These lines from Ranjit Lal’s Birds from my window

“We are the smartest and best and all that”
Said the crow who was having a chat.
“Good” smiled the black Koel,
“Then you will be able To feed and raise all my brats!”

Most societies have myths and superstitions associated with crows, it need be said here that the myths speaks more about the societies than about our hapless crow. Read some: If you see a crow flapping its wings, beware: A big accident is about to happen. Nor do you want to see a crow facing your door, because that signals danger. And if a crow is sitting on top of a house with a red thread in its beak, call the fire department posthaste, because the flames aren't far behind. These I am told are from East Asia, I feel sorry for them.

In folklores crows are mostly associated with death albeit in positive sense like spirits of ancestors and so on (except probably in North America where it seems crows have nothing positive to offer. American Indians though believe crows as wise counselors), while darker side is reserved to Ravens. It probably has to do with their carrion eating habit. Crows have special place in Tibetan Buddhism. In kerala they believe that a crow is harbinger for guests and they shoo them at the very first instance “we aint want any guest!!. We already have enough problems!!”. Of course during auspicious days they wait for crows (jungle crows or bali kaka) to feed on rice balls. This they think is an indication that ancestors are happy. There is a primary school rhyme in Malayalam I recall kake kake kood evide…(crow crow where is your nest…).

There are references of crows (in particular Ravens) in literature Edgar Allan Poe’s much celebrated poem “The Raven” is an example. There is mention in Pachatantra, Shakespeare (lady Macbeth says “the raven himself hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance..”) and many more (even Ted Hughes one collection of poems is titled Crows). To represent something dark in movies like Hitchcock’s Birds or Omen and so on. Then there is incredible painting of Von Gogh “Wheatfield with crows”. Many remarkable Japanese painters have studied crows like late 19^th century artists Kawanabe Kyosai, Watanabe Seitei so on 9i have posted their paintings). Japanese admired crows for their filial devotion.

Answering a question about crows a crow lover Kevin McGowan writes in his website “Crows are not evil, and they are not purposely trying to torment you. They are just being crows, trying to live their lives and feed their families. Actual property destruction is one thing that might require action, but just being annoying is something else again. Try to appreciate the crows for the fascinating creatures they are. If you get over that hurdle, the annoying habits become much less annoying”. I second that.

There is a haiku on crow by none other than Basho

Kara eda ni
Karasumo tomari keri
Aki no kure

The rough translation from Japanese will go like this

On a withered branch,
A crow has stopped
Autumn's eve

If readers have time to spare…well you should have…. read Basho. He is incredible. If haven’t read him you are missing something big. I love Haikus so would love to quote another haiku by another master Buson

They end their flight
one by one--
crows at dusk

Haikus have such meditative quality that if you spend more time on the above you could even count the crows landing on the tree!!. And it is minimal and simple just like the RK Laxman sketch of crow. Probably nobody has sketched and observed crows as much as he has done, each crow having a personality and expressions. It is amazing to watch his crows.

Dedicated to Dr.Salim Ali

This statement by Salim Ali i found in one of the Bird Sanctuary. Salim Ali was a great guy. This blog is dedicated to him. If Birdwatching is a religion then Salim Ali is God!!.

I will write about only those birds in this blog that i have taken picture of. All the snaps in this blog i intend to catch from my camera. Not photos from net.