BROWN PELICAN

Abstract

Pelecanus occidentalis " A wonderful bird is the pelican; his bill can hold more than his belly can.. . " So begins Dixon Lanier Merritt's well-known limerick. It is not far from the truth. The pouch suspended from the lower half of the pelican's long, straight bill really can hold up to three times more than the stomach. In addition to being used as a dip net, the pouch holds the pelican's catch of fish until the accompanying water—as much as three gallons— is squeezed out. During this time, laughing gulls may hover above the pelican, or even sit on its bill, ready to steal a fish or two. Once the water is out, the pelican swallows the fish and carries them in its esophagus. The pouch also serves as a cooling mechanism in hot weather and as a feeding trough for young pelicans. Mexico. The birds are fairly common inland at the Salton Sea in California, lakes in Florida, and bodies of water in southeast Arizona. Measuring up to 54 inches long, weighing 8 to 10 pounds, and having a wingspan between 6-1/2 feet and 7-1/2 feet, brown pelicans are the smallest members of the seven pelican species worldwide. They can be identified by their chestnut-and-white necks; white heads with pale yellow crowns; brown-streaked back, rump, and tail; blackish-brown belly; grayish bill and pouch; and black legs and feet. Pelicans are long-lived birds. One pelican captured in Florida had been banded 31 years earlier! Brown pelicans are strong swimmers; young ones barely able to fly have been timed swimming at 3 m.p.h. Rather clumsy on land, pelicans fly with their necks folded and their heads resting on their backs, using slow, powerful wing beats. Pelicans are primarily fish-eaters, requiring up to four pounds of fish a day. Their diet consists mainly of " rough " fish such as menhaden, herring, sheepshead, pigfish, mullet, grass minnows, topminnows, and silversides. On the Pacific Coast, pelicans rely heavily on anchovies and sardines. The birds have also been known to eat some crustaceans, usually prawns. Brown pelicans have extremely keen eyesight. As they fly over the ocean, sometimes at heights of 60 to 70 feet, they can spot a school of small fish or even a single fish. Diving steeply into the water, they may submerge completely or only partly—depending on the height of the dive—and come up with a mouthful of fish. …