[128][129][130] It is also the state bird of the US state of Louisiana, which is known colloquially as the Pelican State; the bird appears on the state flag and state seal.

A gull will sometimes stand on the pelican's head, peck it to distraction, and grab a fish from the open bill. [69] Pelicans in their turn sometimes snatch prey from other waterbirds. Monotypic. Length 1.3–1.8 m (4.3–5.9 ft), wingspan 2.44–2.9 m (8.0–9.5 ft), weight 5–9 kg (10–20 lb). Pelican, any of seven or eight species of water birds in the genus Pelecanus constituting the family Pelecanidae (order Pelecaniformes), distinguished by their large elastic throat pouches.

Length up to 1.52 m (5.0 ft), wingspan 2.48 m (8.1 ft). [75][76][78], Globally, pelican populations are adversely affected by these main factors: declining supplies of fish through overfishing or water pollution, destruction of habitat, direct effects of human activity such as disturbance at nesting colonies, hunting and culling, entanglement in fishing lines and hooks, and the presence of pollutants such as DDT and endrin. [77][78] Cannibalism of chicks of their own species is known from the Australian, brown, and Peruvian pelicans.

[92][93][94], DDT pollution in the environment was a major cause of decline of brown pelican populations in North America in the 1950s and 1960s.

[3] Birds of inland and coastal waters, they are absent from polar regions, the deep ocean, oceanic islands (except the Galapagos), and inland South America, as well as from the eastern coast of South America from the mouth of the Amazon River southwards. [3] The relationship between pelicans and people has often been contentious. Regional threats include the drainage of wetlands and increasing disturbance in southern Africa. [70][95], In the late 1960s, following the major decline in brown pelican numbers in Louisiana from DDT poisoning, 500 pelicans were imported from Florida to augment and re-establish the population; over 300 subsequently died in April and May 1975 from poisoning by the pesticide endrin. [53] Superficial air sacs may also help to round body contours (especially over the abdomen, where surface protuberances may be caused by viscera changing size and position) to enable the overlying feathers to form more effective heat insulation and also to enable feathers to be held in position for good aerodynamics. When fish congregate in the shallows, the pelicans simply scoop them up. Many pelican parasites are found in other bird groups, but several lice are very host-specific. Pelicans eat fish, which they catch by using the extensible throat pouch as a dip-net. [111], Alcatraz Island was given its name by the Spanish because of the large numbers of brown pelicans nesting present. [13], Ibises and spoonbills (Threskiornithidae), Cladogram based on Hackett et al. The eight living pelican species were traditionally divided into two groups, one containing four ground-nesters with mainly white adult plumage (Australian, Dalmatian, great white, and American white pelicans), and one containing four grey- or brown-plumaged species which nest preferentially either in trees (pink-backed, spot-billed and brown pelicans), or on sea rocks (Peruvian pelican).

The American white pelican grows a prominent knob on its bill that is shed once females have laid eggs. One species, the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), captures fish by a spectacular plunge from the air, but other species swim in formation, driving small schools of fish into shoal water where they are scooped up by the birds. It declined dramatically during the 1998 El Niño event and could experience similar declines in the future. Which flightless bird has been known to kill humans? Human presence alone can cause the birds to accidentally displace or destroy their eggs, leave hatchlings exposed to predators and adverse weather, or even abandon their colonies completely.

[117] A pelican feeding her young is depicted in an oval panel at the bottom of the title page of the first (1611) edition of the King James Bible. Food enough for a week, Tropicbirds, darters, cormorants, gannets, boobies, and frigatebirds, all traditional members of the order, have since been reclassified: tropicbirds into their own order, Phaethontiformes, and the remainder into the Suliformes. [126], The great white pelican is the national bird of Romania. They usually travel in small flocks, soaring overhead and often beating their wings in unison.

Pelicans usually breed in colonies on islands; there may be many small colonies on a single island.

Pacific Coast of South America from Ecuador and Peru south through to southern Chile. Omissions? [1] They are thought to have evolved in the Old World and spread into the Americas; this is reflected in the relationships within the genus as the eight species divide into Old World and New World lineages.[2]. The species is assessed as being of least concern. The wings are long and broad, suitably shaped for soaring and gliding flight, and have the unusually large number of 30 to 35 secondary flight feathers. [65][66][67] The size of the preferred prey fish varies depending on pelican species and location. Though ungainly on land, pelicans are impressive in flight.

It is migratory, as are some other species. The largely marine brown and Peruvian pelicans, formerly considered conspecific,[3] are sometimes separated from the others by placement in the subgenus Leptopelicanus[14] but in fact species with both sorts of appearance and nesting behavior are found in either. Five subspecies. Long thought to be related to frigatebirds, cormorants, tropicbirds, and gannets and boobies, pelicans instead are now known to be most closely related to the shoebill and hamerkop, and are placed in the order Pelecaniformes. Large fish are caught with the bill-tip, then tossed up in the air to be caught and slid into the gullet head-first. [66] However, in southern Africa, eggs and chicks of the Cape cormorant are an important food source for great white pelicans. [14] The tail is short and square. This has led to suggestions that pelican numbers should be controlled at vulnerable colonies. Most species have white or cream colored feathers with black or brown accents.

Four white-plumaged species tend to nest on the ground, and four brown or grey-plumaged species nest mainly in trees. [9][10] U.S.

In reality, it often presses this onto its chest to fully empty the pouch. When fishing in groups, all pelican species have been known to work together to catch their prey, and Dalmantian pelicans may even cooperate with great cormorants. Nicholas Hilliard painted the Pelican Portrait around 1573, now owned by the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. [51], The Australian pelican has two reproductive strategies depending on the local degree of environmental predictability. As the air flows between the wings and the water surface, it is compressed to a higher density and exerts a stronger upward force against the bird above. However, more recent genetic analysis suggests that the aforementioned seabirds may be more accurately grouped in their own order (Suliformes). [52], Anatomical dissections of two brown pelicans in 1939 showed that pelicans have a network of subcutaneous air sacs under their skin situated across the ventral surface including the throat, breast, and undersides of the wings, as well as having air sacs in their bones.

[4] The plumage of immature pelicans is darker than that of adults. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. [56], Pelicans swim well with their strong legs and their webbed feet. 30–60 km/hr (20–40 mph)—many small- and medium-sized birds such as starlings, chimney swifts, and mourning doves The pouch is not used to store the fish, which are swallowed immediately. There are more than half a dozen species of pelicans, but all of them have the famous throat pouch for which the birds are best known. Pelicans frequent inland and coastal waters, where they feed principally on fish, catching them at or near the water surface.

[132] The name and image were used for Pelican Books, an imprint of nonfiction books published by Penguin Books.

The English name albatross is also derived by corruption of the Spanish word. [86] However, whether its numbers have been affected by exposure to pesticides is unclear, as it has also lost habitat through wetland drainage and competition with recreational use of lakes and rivers.



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