The Brown Pelican is the smallest of seven species of the pelican family. It lives strictly on the Atlantic coast from Washington and Virginia to the mouth of the Amazon River. Some immature birds may stray to inland freshwater lakes. After nesting, North American birds move in flocks further north along the coasts, returning to warmer waters for winter.
The Brown Pelican is distinguished from the American White Pelican by its brown body and its habit of diving for fish from the air, as opposed to co-operative fishing from the surface. Groups of Brown Pelicans often travel in single file, flying low over the water's surface as in a squadron.
The nest location of Brown Pelicans varies from a simple scrape on the ground on an island to a bulky stick nest in a low tree. The Pelican nests in colonies, usually on islands.
The gape of a bird's beak might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about our feathered friends, but it’s an incredibly important feature that plays a vital role in their survival. Let's delve into what the gape is, why it matters, and some... Read more »
We've just added two new Birdorable coloring pages. The Brown Pelican is a large waterbird that lives along American coasts from Virginia south to Peru. The Greylag Goose is a common goose across Europe and Asia. Go to Coloring Pages to download these two new... Read more »
This week we are proud to highlight four new t-shirt designs created to help Gulf Coast wildlife. All of Birdorable's profits on all sales of these four designs from creation until the end of 2011 were donated to organizations working to help Gulf Coast birds suffering from the... Read more »
