black pelican in Canberra

[John Leonard <>]

I would have thought that a bird so badly stained with oil as resemble a
melanistic bird would not survive long, especially an aquatic species. I
believe that the oil kills birds in two ways, firstly it poisons them when
they ingest it after preening, and secondly it destroys the natural oil in
their pulumage, making them no longer waterproof.

John Leonard