Brown Pelican

Fascinating facts about the Brown Pelican

• From up to 21 m (70 ft) in the air, brown pelicans spot fish schools and then plunge bill-first like a kingfisher, disappearing beneath the surface for a split second to snatch prey. This high-altitude dive is unique among pelicans; only the Peruvian pelican dives, but never from such heights. The plunge lets them capture fish that surface-feeding birds miss, turning the sky into a hunting platform and showing how aerial vision and a powerful plunge combine for efficient feeding.
• Measuring 1 to 1.52 m long with a 2.03-2.28 m wingspan, adult brown pelicans weigh 2-5 kg, about half the mass of their American white and Peruvian cousins. Males tip the scale 15-20 % heavier than females, yet even the heaviest brown pelicans are still lighter than the other New World pelicans. Their relatively light build, combined with huge air sacs, gives them buoyancy in water.
• Brown pelicans lay two to three chalky white eggs, each about 76 mm long, and both parents incubate them for 28-30 days. After hatching, chicks grow fast: they fledge in roughly 63 days and become independent by 11 weeks. The first-hatched chick enjoys a near-100 % fledging success, while later chicks face steep drop-offs, highlighting how timing and sibling competition shape survival in these dense colonies.
• In the wild, brown pelicans can live to 43 years, with three banded birds recorded at 31, 37 and 43 years old. Yet only about 30 % survive their first year and fewer than 2 % make it past a decade.
• After DDT was banned in Florida in 1972 and across the United States shortly after, the brown pelican. Listed as endangered from 1970 to 2009, its numbers have risen since the pesticide ban.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia
• Animal Diversity Web

At a glance

About the Brown Pelican

As the sun rises over the coastal waters, the Brown Pelican unfolds its majestic wings, a masterful blend of elegance and brute strength, before taking to the skies with a slow, deliberate beat. With eyes fixed intently on the waves below, it begins its hunt, plummeting downwards in a swift, vertical dive, its pouched bill slicing through the surface with barely a ripple. In this fleeting moment, the pelican's remarkable adaptability and precision are on full display, a testament to its enduring presence in these dynamic, oceanic landscapes.

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