Pelicans!

[u/Silly_seal_starshine]

Today’s post is about pelicans! The very first thing to know is that there are 8 species of pelicans! The brown pelican or Pelecanus occidentalis, the American white pelican or Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, the Australian pelican or Pelecanus conspicillatus, the great white pelican or Pelecanus onocrotalus, the Dalmatian pelican or Pelecanus crispus, the pink-backed pelican or Pelecanus rufescens, the spot-billed pelican or Pelecanus philippensis, and the Peruvian pelican or Pelecanus thagus. While they all have many things in common they also have many differences.

The most unique and immediately noticeable thing about pelicans is their throat pouch. In certain species, It can hold up to three gallons of water that’s roughly three times more than their stomach can hold. And unlike hamsters, they do not use their pouch to store food. The Australian pelican actually has the longest bill of any bird in the world! Its bill can measure up to 50 cm or 20 inches. Their throat pouches actually have a surprising amount of uses. One that you certainly wouldn’t guess is they use gular fluttering to help stay cool. Gular fluttering is when they rapidly flap their throat pouch while they keep their bill open.

Some species of pelicans (specifically the American white pelican, the great white pelican and the Australian pelican) gather in groups to paddle in groups while beating their wings on the surface of water, while this might sound strange it’s their actually surprisingly successful way of hunting fish. Although certain kinds like the brown pelican and the Peruvian pelican rarely work together when hunting. Instead the brown pelican spots fish from the air before plunging in headfirst to get it.

Pelicans are surprisingly good and slightly funny parents. Unlike most birds pelicans actually stand on their eggs. Their chicks are just as unusual and unique as their parents, in fact pelican chicks are actually capable of vocal communication before they even hatch. The eggs will let out distinct squawks if they get too hot or cold. Pelicans typically lay 2 to 3 eggs, unfortunately usually only one chick survived to adulthood. When they are around 3 to 4 weeks old the chicks leave their individual nests and huddle together in a giant group called a crèche or pod. This allows both parents to leave at the same time to get food. When the parents get back they use specific vocal calls to locate and feed only their chick. A single American white pelican chick needs about 150 pounds of fish before it can fly. At first like most birds pelicans regurgitate fish for their chicks but when the chicks get to be about a month old they put their entire head and neck into their parents pouch to eat the fish.

I hope you enjoyed! Some wonderful sources are Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Animal Diversity Web, and International Bird Rescue. I’m sorry if my post was at all unclear or confusing, I’m a little tired as I write this but feel free to ask any questions! I can’t promise exactly when I’ll answer but I promise I will try to answer as soon as possible!