Brown Pelican
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| Brown Pelican | ||||||||||||||
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| Missing image Brownpelican77.jpg Brown Pelican | ||||||||||||||
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| Pelecanus occidentalis Linnaeus, 1766 |
Pelican.cropped.jpg
It lives strictly on coasts from Washington and Cape Cod to the mouth of the Amazon River. Some immature birds may stray to inland freshwater lakes. After nesting, North American birds move further north along the coasts in flocks, returning to warmer waters for winter.
This bird is distinguished from the American White Pelican by its brown body and its habit of diving for fish from the air, as opposed to cooperative fishing from the surface. It dines mostly on herring-like fish. Groups of these birds often travel in single file, flying low over the water's surface.
The nest location varies from a simple scrape on the ground on an island to a bulky stick nest in a low tree. These birds nest in colonies, usually on islands.
Brown_pelican_Baja_2005.jpg
There are four subspecies:
- Pelecanus occidentalis californicus (California brown pelican)
- Pelecanus occidentalis carolinensis
- Pelecanus occidentalis occidentalis Linnaeus, 1766
- Pelecanus occidentalis thagus
It is the state bird of Louisiana.
The Brown Pelican is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1972. Template:Commons
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