Pelicans
Pelicans are large water birds characterized by their distinctive long beaks and large, featherless pouches beneath their bills, which they use to catch fish. There are seven recognized species of pelicans, with habitats ranging from coastal regions to warm inland waters across North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The brown pelican, which is the smallest species, is found along the coasts from North Carolina to Chile, while the American white pelican occupies inland areas of the United States and Canada. These birds exhibit varied plumage, with colors including white, black, brown, and gray, and their physical size can range from four to six feet in length.
Pelicans are social feeders, often working together in groups to catch fish, though the brown pelican utilizes a dramatic plunge dive technique. They are skilled fliers and are often seen gliding in V-formation. During breeding, pelicans engage in elaborate courtship displays and build nests on the ground or in trees, typically laying one to three eggs. The species faces challenges due to environmental threats like habitat destruction and pollution, which have historically impacted their populations, particularly the brown pelican, which was once listed as endangered due to pesticide exposure. While conservation efforts have helped restore some populations, ongoing threats remain for certain species, highlighting the importance of habitat preservation and protection.
Pelicans
Pelican Facts
Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelicaniformes
Family: Pelecanidae
Genus and species: Pelecanus onocrotalus (eastern great white pelican), P. erythrorynchos (American white pelican), P. occidentalis (brown pelican), P. rufescens (pink-backed pelican), P. philippensis (spot-billed pelican), P. crispus (Dalmatian pelican), P. conspicillatus (Australian pelican), P. thagus (Peruvian pelican)
Geographical location: North and South America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
Habitat: Coastal areas or inland lakes and rivers
Gestational period: Incubation lasts thirty days
Life span: Eight to twenty years
Special anatomy: Webbed feet; long, pointed bill with retractable throat pouch; air sacs under the skin; large wingspan
Pelicans are large water birds that live on seacoasts or in warm inland water habitats. There are seven generally recognized species. The coastal brown pelican has a range stretching from North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean and from British Columbia to Chile, as well as the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. The American white pelican inhabits inland habitats in the western, central, and southeastern United States, Mexico, and Canada. The remaining species live in Australia, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Physical Characteristics of Pelicans
Pelicans rank among the largest of living birds, ranging in size from four to six feet in length and weighing from four to sixteen pounds. The brown pelican is the smallest, and the large eastern great white pelican has a wingspan of up to ten feet. They have short legs and broad, fully webbed feet, which act as powerful paddles in the water, and cause them to walk with an awkward waddle on land.
The pelican is famous for its huge, featherless throat pouch that is attached to the lower mandible. The pouch stretches as it fills with water when the bird is fishing and can hold nearly three gallons. The pouch also functions as an evaporative cooling mechanism. The pelican opens its mouth and flutters its pouch, which keeps air flowing over the moist surface.
Plumage color varies among species and according to age. Pelicans can be predominantly white, black, brown, or gray, with markings on the head, wingtips, underfeathers, or tail. The legs and feet are orange, brown, or black, and the bill and pouch are reddish, orange, or black. During the breeding season, these body parts change color, and many pelicans develop a yellow patch on the chest, a distinctive crest, and a bright ring around the eyes. The American white pelican also grows a noticeable horny knob on its beak.
Feeding, Flying, and Sleeping
Pelicans feed on many species of saltwater and freshwater fish, from tiny anchovies to fish weighing over a pound. Small crayfish, salamanders, frogs, and snakes are also consumed. The pelican thrusts its head and neck underwater and uses its pouch as a dip net to scoop up its prey. It drains out the water, then tilts its head back and swallows the fish whole. Many pelicans are social fishers, swimming in a circle to close in on the school, then all thrusting and dipping at once. Brown pelicans are solitary feeders, utilizing a spectacular plunge dive from about twenty feet above the water, with neck outstretched and bill pointed down. They hit the water hard, stunning the fish and trapping them in the pouch. Air sacs beneath the pelican’s skin cushion its dive and help it to surface quickly.
Pelicans are graceful fliers. They take off against the wind, beating their wings and pumping their feet simultaneously, hopping until they are airborne. They fly at a relatively slow speed, with their necks retracted and their heavy bills tucked in and resting on the breast, and often glide on thermals to conserve energy. Pelicans regularly fly in flocks in a V-formation, flapping their wings in unison. They often travel a great distance in search of food.
Pelicans sleep standing or sitting on their bellies, with the head twisted back and the beak tucked into their feathers. Self-care activities include muscle exercises such as body shaking, wing flapping, tail wagging, leg stretching, bill throwing, and yawning. Pelicans groom themselves by splash bathing, preening with their beaks, and rubbing their heads over the body to distribute waterproofing oil to their feathers.
Reproduction
Pelicans are warm-weather birds, migrating in large flocks to nest in huge colonies. During courtship, the male uses various behaviors such as bowing, stretching, and pouch displaying to attract a female. Both engage in nesting, the male often gathering sticks and bringing them to the female to incorporate into the nest. Nests are built on the ground or in trees. One to three eggs are laid and take thirty days to hatch. The chicks are born featherless, and the parents brood them, protecting them from the elements until their feathers come in. Unless the food supply is abundant, only the strongest chick survives. Young chicks eat the parent’s regurgitated food. Older chicks feed by sticking their heads in the parent’s pouch and throat. By twelve weeks of age, the chicks can fly and begin to hunt for themselves. By one year, they have their full plumage. They begin reproduction at three to four years of age.
Endangerment
Pesticides, oil spills, habitat destruction, entanglement in fishing lines, and human disturbance have affected pelican populations in various parts of the world. In 1970, the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the brown pelican as an endangered species due to the heavy usage of Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and endrin. When pelicans ate DDT-contaminated fish, they produced thin-shelled eggs that were crushed during incubation. Endrin was toxic. Populations improved after the pesticides were banned, and in 2009, they were removed from the endangered species list. The spot-billed pelican of Asia and the Dalmatian pelican of Europe and China also face difficulties.
Principal Terms
Brood: to cover the young with the wings
Crest: tuft of feathers on the head
Mandible: the upper or lower portion of the bird’s bill
Thermals: rising currents of warm air
Totipalmate: having all four toes fully webbed
Bibliography
Johnsgard, Paul A. Cormorants, Darters, and Pelicans of the World. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.
Patent, Dorothy Hinshaw. Pelicans. New York: Clarion Books, 1992.
“Pelecanus.” ITIS, Integrated Taxonomic Information System, 8 Nov. 2017, www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search‗topic=TSN&search‗value=174683#null. Accessed 31 Jan. 2018.
“Species Profile: Brown Pelican.” Smithsonian's National Zoo, nationalzoo.si.edu/migratory-birds/species-profile-brown-pelican. Accessed 11 July 2023.
Stone, Lynn. The Pelican. New York: Dillon Press, 1990.
Williams, Ted. “Lessons From Lake Apopka.” Audubon 101, no. 4 (July/August, 1999): 64-72.