Bird name:

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

Order

PELECANIFORMES

Family

Pelicans (Pelecanidae)

Code 4

BRPE

Code 6

PELOCC

ITIS

174685

Breeding Location:

Seashore, rocky or sandy, Sea, open

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Colonial

Breeding Population:

Fairly common to common

Egg Color:

White, nest stained

Number of Eggs:

2 - 4

Incubation Days:

28 - 30

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Sticks, reeds, and grass.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Brown Pelican: Large, unmistakable seabird with gray-brown body, dark brown and pale yellow head and neck, and oversized bill. Large feet are webbed. Sexes are similar. Winter adult has pale neck and head. Juvenile has browner upperparts, paler underparts, and dark neck and head.

Range and Habitat

Brown Pelican: Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf coasts north to Nova Scotia, occasionally found inland. Preferred habitats include sandy coastal beaches and lagoons, waterfronts and pilings, and rocky cliffs.

Breeding and Nesting

Brown Pelican: Lays two to four white eggs in a nest made of reeds, grass, straw, and sticks, and built in a tree; or builds a ground nest consisting of a shallow scrape lined with feathers and a surrounding rim of soil 4 to 6 inches high. Usually nests in colonies. Incubation ranges from 28 to 30 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Brown Pelican: Eats mostly menhaden, accounting for over 90 percent of diet, but also preys on pigfish, pinfish, herring, sheepshead, silversides, mullet, top minnows, and crustaceans, usually prawns. Plunge dives to catch fish.

Vocalization

Brown Pelican: Usually silent, but utters low grunts on nesting grounds.

Similar Species

Brown Pelican: None in range.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America