Geographic
Range: Nearctic, Neotropical: Strictly coastal, living on the
coasts of USA, W. Indies, Mexico and Central America south to north
and west South America. In Mexico they can be found along the entire
Pacific Coast, including Gulf of California and along the entire Atlantic
(Gulf of Mexico) coast.
Physical Characteristics: Very large
and bulky bird (114-137 cm) long. In adult, the head is white with
a pale yellow wash on the crown; the long bill is grayish; back, rump,
and tail are streaked with gray and dark brown; the breast and belly
are a blackish-brown; eyes pale yellow; and legs and feet are black.
Immatures have brownish- grey necks and white underparts. All pelicans
have bills that are as long or longer than their heads. The huge naked
skin pouch suspended from the lower half of the hooked bill holds
two or three times more than the bird's stomach-about 3 gallons of
water and fish. Pelicans hold their catch and let the water drain
from the corners of their mouths before they swallow. Fish are never
carried in the pouch, but in the gullet or esophagus. The pouch, besides
acting as a dip net, is also pulsated in extreme heat to allow cooling.
Pelicaniformes are the only birds that share in common a totipalmate
foot, that is, one in which all four toes, including the hind one,
are united by a web of skin.
Food Habits: Brown pelicans dive
from the air for fish. Menhaden account for 90-95% of their food.
They also prey on pigfish, pinfish, herring, sheepshead, silversides,
mullet, grass and top minnows, and they sometimes eat crustaceans,
usually prawns.
Reproduction: Male pelicans pick
out the nesting sites and perform an "advertising" display
which attracts the females. Once a pair forms a bond, overt communiction
between them is minimal. Pelican nesting peaks during March and
April; nests are in colonies either in trees, bushes, or on the
ground. Those placed in trees are made of reeds, grasses, straw,
and sticks; if on the ground, nests consist of a shallow scrape
lined with feathers and a rim of soil built 4-10'' above the ground.
Brown Pelicans lay 2-3 chalky white eggs. Incubation is about 28-30
days; young walk out of the nests on the ground about 35 days after
hatching but do not leave treetop nests until about 63 -88 days
for their first flight.
Behavior: Pelicans are very gregarious
birds; they live in flocks of both sexes throughout the year. They
are exceptionally buoyant due to the internal air sacks beneath
their skin and in their bones, and as graceful in the air as they
are clumsy on land. In level flight, pelicans fly in groups, with
their heads held back on their shoulders, the bills resting on their
folded necks. They may fly in a "V", but usually in regular
lines or single file.
Habitat: Coastal ecosystems
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