Species: Pelecanus occidentalis

Brown Pelican

Species

Birds

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Species of concern in the Salish Sea

Species of concern in the Puget Sound watershed

Salish Sea-reliant birds

Terrestrial vertebrates: birds

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Size varies greatly depending on location, with the smallest individuals in the West Indies, medium birds on the coasts of the U.S. (Atlantic and Gulf), Central America, and Colombia and Ecuador, large birds on the coasts of California, Mexico, and Galapagos Islands, and very large in Peru and Chile (NGS 1983, Palmer 1962).

Articles:

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

August 01, 2013

This article was originally published by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as part of its annual report Threatened and Endangered Wildlife in Washington.

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Pelecaniformes

Family

Pelecanidae

Genus

Pelecanus

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.817986

Classification

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Other Birds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Pelecaniformes - Pelecanidae - Pelecanus - Molina, 1782 [Peruvian Pelican], now considered distinct (e.g. Sibley and Monroe 1990, Ridgely and Greenfield 2001) on the basis of much larger size, differences in color of plumage and soft parts (Wetmore 1945), and absence of interbreeding (Banks et al., 2008).

Ecology and Life History

Short General Description

Brown Pelican, Pelecanidae

Migration

true - true - true - Many stay close to nesting areas in winter. A portion of the eastern subspecies migrates to Florida, the Caribbean coasts of Colombia and Venezuela, and the Greater Antilles for winter. During cold winters, some Texas breeders winter along the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Individuals from breeding areas north of Florida winter mainly in Florida and Cuba; young and adults from Florida breeding colonies are more sedentary (young generally do not disperse more than 250 km from natal areas, adults may move up to 450-575 km from colony during the nonbreeding season) (Johnsgard 1993).

Non-migrant

true

Locally Migrant

true

Food Comments

Eats mainly fishes, especially menhaden, mullet, sardines, pinfish, and anchovies in U.S. waters; sometimes euphausiids; dives into water from air (USFWS 1980). Feeds by diving in deeper water, by swimming, sometimes in cooperative groups, in shallower water (Hilty and Brown 1986). Rarely reported scavenging or preying on eggs or young of water birds. Forages in shallow estuarine and inshore waters mostly within 10 km of the coast (Johnsgard 1993).

Reproduction Comments

Colonies include up to 150 pairs in Trinidad.

Ecology Comments

Populations fluctuate considerably from year to year and from place to place.

Length

122

Weight

3636

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-11-20

Global Status Last Changed

1996-11-20

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

H - 2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - Subspecies CALIFORNICUS: breeds along Pacific coast in southern California (Anacapa Island), and in Mexico on islands off Baja California and on islands in the Gulf of California (south to Isabella and the Tres Marias Islands); possibly locally along the coast of Sonora and Sinaloa; vagrants have occurred north to British Columbia and Idaho (Johnsgard 1993).

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.817986