The pelican is a large waterbird that is known for its distinctive large beak and throat pouch. Pelicans are found on coastlines and inland waterways around the world. There are 8 living species of pelicans, which vary in size and coloration but all share some key characteristics.
Pelicans feed by scooping fish into their elastic throat pouch and then tipping their head back to swallow the catch. Their diet consists mainly of fish, but they also eat amphibians and crustaceans. Pelicans are gregarious birds that nest colonially and forage cooperatively by herding fish into shallow water.
There are a few very large bird species that bear some resemblance to pelicans in their size, habits, and appearance. These include:
Shoebill
The shoebill is a very large stork-like bird that lives in tropical east Africa. Shoebills can stand up to 5 feet tall and have a wingspan of 8 feet. Like pelicans, the shoebill has a long, hooked beak with a pouch underneath. However, the shoebill’s beak is blunter and more rounded at the end compared to the thinner, pointier pelican beak.
Shoebills feed mostly on lungfish, eels, and other fish that they catch with a scissor-like motion of their beaks. They nest on floating vegetation in swamps and marshes. While the shoebill occupies a similar ecological niche to pelicans, they are not closely related. Pelicans belong to the Pelecaniformes order, while shoebills are placed in the order Ciconiiformes with storks and herons.
Dalmatian Pelican
The Dalmatian pelican is a massive, all-white pelican that breeds in eastern Europe and Asia. It is one of the largest of the pelicans, weighing over 30 lbs with a wingspan reaching 11 feet. The Dalmatian pelican looks very similar to the better-known American white pelican of North America. Both have short, pale beaks with a large throat pouch.
However, the Dalmatian pelican is even larger. Its beak has a reddish hue and a more prominent raised ridge running down it. Dalmatian pelicans nest communally in wetlands and forage for fish in groups, plunging their pouches into the water to scoop up many fish at once. The species faces threats from wetland habitat loss and human disturbance at breeding colonies.
Goliath Heron
The Goliath heron is Africa’s largest heron species and one of the world’s biggest herons. It stands up to 5 feet tall and has a wingspan approaching 8 feet. The Goliath heron is grey-blue in color with a large, thick bill. Although it belongs to the heron family Ardeidae, the Goliath heron shares some behavioral similarities with pelicans.
Goliath herons feed mostly on fish, which they catch by striking quickly with their large bills. They will also stand motionless in the water and grab passing fish. Unlike other herons, they do not spear fish with their bills. Goliath herons gather in large feeding flocks and nest in large colonies in swamps and mangroves. Their massive size allows them to dominate prime feeding areas.
Unique Characteristics of Pelicans
While other big waterbirds share some qualities with pelicans, pelicans have a few unique features and behaviors:
Throat Pouch
The most characteristic feature of pelicans is their elastic throat pouch. This large sac of skin dangles from their lower bill and allows pelicans to scoop up fish and water and then drain the water before swallowing their catch. The thin sides of the pouch allow water to seep out while fish are trapped inside.
No other birds have a similar expandable pouch for catching prey. Cormorants have a rigid throat pouch for holding fish. Herons and storks do not have pouches. The flexible pelican pouch expands to over 3 gallons in volume in the larger species. It serves as a built-in fishing net.
Perching Behavior
Pelicans have a distinctive perching posture where they stand upright and pull their head and neck back onto their body. This is due to their uniquely adapted spine which has up to 24 vertebrae in the neck.
Most other birds have 12-14 neck vertebrae and cannot curl their neck over their back to the same degree. The spine of pelicans also has strong elastic ligaments for storing energy on the inward flex. Their wings are long and slotted at the edge to facilitate soaring.
Dive-bombing
Pelicans that feed on fish often forage in groups and utilize a feeding method known as plunge-diving or dive-bombing. From flight, they fold back their wings and plunge straight down, beak first, to strike and grab fish near the water surface.
Just before hitting the water, they thrust out their pouches to engulf water and any prey. Other plunging birds like gannets dive from greater heights, but no others combine steep dives with the scooping action of the bill pouch.
Cooperative Foraging
Pelicans are also known for synchronizing their movements to cooperatively herd fish into shallower water. They form a line or semicircle and synchronously flap their wings and submerge their bills to drive fish towards the shoreline.
ThisCorralling behavior requires cooperation and some cognition to work as a group. It allows pelicans to trap schools of fish and maximize their feeding efficiency. No other waterbirds demonstrate the same cooperative strategy.
Where Pelicans Live
Pelicans have a widespread global distribution and occupy every continent except Antarctica. Different pelican species are found on coasts and waterways around the world, including:
Brown Pelican
– Coastal areas of North and South America
– Nests on islands and mangrove forests
– Swims low over the ocean surface plunge-diving for fish
Peruvian Pelican
– Coastal South America from Peru to Chile
– Forages along the Humboldt oceanic current
– Nests in guano deposits on rocky cliffs
Great White Pelican
– Africa south of the Sahara
– Lakes, rivers, and swamps
– Swims and floats rather than diving from the air
Australian Pelican
– Waterways in Australia and Tasmania
– Largest pelican species with a wingspan up to 10 ft
– Dives from heights of up to 65 ft to catch fish
Dalmatian Pelican
– Eastern Europe and Asia
– Freshwater lakes and rivers
– Migrates between Russia, China, and India
American White Pelican
– Lakes, rivers and coasts in North America
– Nests in huge colonies of over 10,000 pairs
– Migrates in flocks between the United States and Mexico
Pelican Diet
Pelicans subsist mainly on fish and an occasional amphibian or crustacean. Their diet consists of whatever small fish are abundant in their local habitat. Some examples of common pelican prey include:
Menhaden
A small schooling fish that forms a large part of brown pelican diets along the North American coasts. Brown pelicans plunge dive for menhaden.
Carp
A bottom-feeding freshwater fish eaten by inland pelicans like the American white pelican. They scoop up carp abundantly from lakes and rivers.
Anchovies
Small forage fish that travel in large schools. Anchovies are a primary food source for Peruvian pelicans feeding along coastal Peru.
Sardines
Another type of small schooling fish frequently eaten by coastal pelican species like the brown pelican and the Australian pelican.
Mullet
Common prey for American white pelicans and great white pelicans. Other small fish like minnows, sticklebacks, and killifish are also important foods.
Crayfish
Pelicans supplement their diet with available crustaceans, aquatic insects, tadpoles or frogs. The diet varies based on locally abundant food sources.
Threats and Conservation Status
While pelican populations remain healthy in many regions, they face threats from habitat loss, disturbance at breeding sites, and contamination due to pesticides and oil spills.
The status of pelicans on the IUCN Red List includes:
Vulnerable
– Dalmatian Pelican
Near Threatened
– Spot-billed Pelican
– Pink-backed Pelican
Least Concern
– Great White Pelican
– American White Pelican
– Brown Pelican
– Australian Pelican
– Peruvian Pelican
Legal protections, habitat conservation, and reduced contamination have allowed many pelican numbers to rebound from previous declines. Ongoing monitoring and protection is needed to preserve pelican populations into the future.
Conclusion
Pelicans are highly adapted birds specialized for scooping fish into their elastic throat pouches. A few other large waterbirds occupy a similar ecological niche, like the massive shoebill stork and the giant Goliath heron of Africa.
However, pelicans are unique in features like their plunge-diving, cooperative group foraging, and flexible spine allowing them to curl their necks backward onto their bodies. They inhabit marine environments, lakes, rivers, and swamps on every continent except Antarctica. Protecting their breeding habitats and food supplies allows pelican populations to thrive.