Brown Pelican

The Brown Pelican is a large bird measuring 45 to 54 inches in length with a wing span of over six feet. It has a brown and gray body and a white head with a light brown crown. Its bill is up to twelve inches in length and the throat pouch distinct. During the breeding season its throat takes on a dark brown hue.

Males and females are similar in appearance although the male is slightly larger. The young birds have a darker head which lightens as they reach maturity.

The Brown Pelican can be found along the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Gulf Coast. On the Atlantic Coast its range stretches from North Carolina south through Venezuela. On the Pacific coast it can be seen in the Southern California coast and southward as far as Chile. Once mating season is over, it will wander farther northward.

The Brown Pelican is a coastal bird preferring saltwater lagoons, sandy beaches, and waterfronts to the freshwater lakes inhabited by American White Pelican.

As with many water birds, the Brown Pelican's colors change during mating season. The chest and head feathers take on a golden hue. Their eyes turn from yellow to blue and the skin surrounding them becomes a bright pink. The California Brown Pelican's pouch turns a bright red as well.

The male selects a nest site and then tries to attract a female with distinctive head movements. Once mated, the nest is built. The male collects the reeds and grass for the nest and the female weaves them together. It usually takes close to a week to complete the nest building process. It can be built in a tree or a bush but is often simply a hollow on the ground. They nest in colonies, usually on a barrier island close to the mainland.

The female will lay two to three eggs within a few days of completing the nest. Both the male and female incubate the eggs and care for the young. Unlike most birds, the Brown Pelican incubates its eggs with its webbed feet.

The eggs are incubated for close to a month before finally hatching. They hatchlings are fed regurgitated food, first from the bottom of the nest and later directly from its parent's mouth. The young usually leave the nest between two and three months of age. It will be three years before they reach maturity and are able to breed.

As with all pelicans, the Brown Pelican dines on fish. However, rather than hunt in groups from the surface of the water, the Brown Pelican is a plunge diver. They fold their wings in and dive into the water after prey. The bill and pouch are used like a net. Once it has scooped up the fish, The Brown Pelican lets the water drain out of the pouch. It will then tip its head back and swallow the fish whole.

During the 1970's the population of Brown Pelicans dropped drastically due to pesticides such as DDT. With the exception of a small population of Brown Pelicans in Florida, the bird was gone. They were placed on the Federal Endangered Species List at that time. Since the ban of DDT, the Brown Pelicans have rebounded. The total numbers are at record levels and increasing. They were removed from the endangered list in the southeastern United States but are still listed as endangered throughout the rest of their range.

The Brown Pelican is conservation success story but conservationists are still monitoring their numbers. They are highly susceptible to oil spills and are often entangled in fishing lines. The Brown Pelican are no longer listed as endangered but they are still vulnerable. It would take so little to upset the balance.

Careless fishermen pose a serious threat to the Brown Pelican. Fishing lines snap leaving fish hooks, line, and a struggling fish behind. The Brown Pelican is attracted to the struggling fish and get tangled in the line. Once caught, if they are not strangled in the struggle to free themselves, they starve to death.

Dunn, J.L. & Alderfer, J., Editors. 2006. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition. National Geographic Society.

Peterson, T.P. & Peterson, V.M. 2002. Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, N.Y.

NatureWorks
All About Birds: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
National Audubon Society