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Henry Sowell

Vol. I · Est. 2026

Pl. CXLVI
Field-journal plate: Brown Pelican
The Brown Pelican plate as rendered on the e-ink frame
As rendered on the frame

The Birds · Plate CXLVI

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

Pelecanidae · Taxon 4328

Length100–137 cm (both sexes)
Wingspan200 cm (both sexes)
Weight2–5 kg

Field marks

  1. Huge, stocky seabird with a slender neck and an extremely long, grayish bill with a hooked tip and expandable throat pouch.
  2. Adults have a white head washed pale yellow; breeding birds develop a rich reddish-brown neck.
  3. Silver-gray and brown-streaked upperparts contrast with a dark brown belly; immatures are browner with pale underparts.
  4. Adult irises range from pale blue to yellowish white and become brown during the breeding season; juvenile irises are dark brown.
  5. Long, broad wings appear bowed in a glide and end in separated, fingerlike dark flight feathers.
  6. Short dark tail and short black legs with fully webbed feet.

HabitatCoastal marine and estuarine waters, especially shallow bays, beaches, and nearshore waters. Roosts on sandbars, pilings, jetties, mangroves, and offshore rocks; nests colonially on secluded islands or coastal vegetation.

BehaviorForages mainly by plunge-diving headfirst for schooling fish, then drains water from its throat pouch before swallowing. Social birds often glide low over the water in lines or V formations and nest in colonies.

Palette

silver graydark browncreamy whitepale yellowchestnut brown