American White Pelican

The American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) is a very large (50"–70") white bird with black wing tips and an enormous orange bill. They have a wing span of approximately 3 m. They are graceful in flight, moving their wings in slow powerful strokes.

Related Topics:
Bird - 3 m

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Unlike the Brown Pelican, the American White Pelican does not dive for its food. Instead it practices cooperative fishing. Each bird eats more than 4 pounds of fish a day, mostly carp, chubs, shiners, perch, catfish, and jackfish.

Related Topics:
Brown Pelican - Cooperative fishing - Carp - Chub - Shiners - Perch - Catfish - Jackfish

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White Pelicans nest in colonies of several hundred pairs on islands in remote brackish and freshwater lakes of inland North America. The female lays 2 or 3 eggs in a shallow depression on the ground. Both parents incubate.

Related Topics:
North America - Incubate

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They winter in central California and along the Pacific coast of Guatemala; also along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.

Related Topics:
California - Pacific - Guatemala - Gulf of Mexico

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Shooting by poachers is the largest known cause of mortality. Colonies are sensitive to disturbance and visits by humans can cause the pelicans to leave and abandon their nests.

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This species is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1972.

Related Topics:
Migratory Bird Treaty - 1972

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The scientific name for this species combines Pelecanus, the Latin for pelican, with erythrorhynchos, derived from the Greek words erythros meaning red, and rhynchos meaning beak.

Related Topics:
Latin - Greek

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