Visual Search | Wizard | Browse
Bird name:
Home| Search| Browser| Expert| Forum| Store| My WhatBird| Help| Site Map

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalisOrder: PELECANIFORMES Family: Pelicans (Pelecanidae)
Codes: Common Name: BRPE Scientific Name: PELOCC ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174685
Brown Pelican Head Illustration

Head

Topo Map: Duck-like Head
  • Bill Shape: Specialized
  • Eye Color: Brown in young, lightening to straw white or light sky blue as courtship approaches; Returns to brown after courtship.
  • Head Pattern: Plain, Eyering (complete or broken)
  • Crown Color: White
  • Forehead Color: Pale Yellow
  • Nape Color: Dark red-brown
  • Throat Color: Dark red-brown, white and yellow.
  • Cere color: No Data
Splitbar

Recommended Products:

Jelly Jar Jelly Feeder
The orange "blossum" replaces the lid of a jelly jar.
Attract Orioles with Fruit
Sliced orange secures easily to the center of the ring. Low cost.
Attract with Nectar
Hex shaped nectar feeds several Orioles. Nectar kept in fridge.
Charm and Attraction
Lovely copper umbrella keeps fruit cool and looks great.
Brown Pelican Body Illustration

Body

Topo Map: Duck-like Body
  • Length Range: 122-127 cm (48-50 in)
  • Weight: 3718 g (131.2 oz)
  • Size: Size 5. Very Large (32 - 72 in)
  • Color: White, Brown, Gray, Yellow
  • Underparts: Brown-black
  • Upperparts: Streaked gray-brown.
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Striped or streaked, Solid
Brown Pelican Flight Illustration

Flight

Topo Map: Duck-like Flight
  • Flight Pattern: Graceful., Powerful flight with deliberate wing beats alternating with short glides.
  • Wingspan Range: 198-213 cm (78-84 in)
  • Wing Shape: Long-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Fan-shaped Tail, Squared Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid
  • Upper Tail: Brown-black
  • Under Tail: Brown-black
  • Leg Color: Black
.
Family Pelican (Pelecanidae)_blue
Species Pelecanus occidentalis
Length48 - 50 Inches
Wingspan81 Inches

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican: Large, unmistakable seabird, gray-brown body, dark brown, pale yellow head and neck, oversized bill. Black legs, webbed feet. Feeds on fish by plunge diving and scooping them up with pouch. Powerful flight alternates flaps with short glides. Flies close to the water in straight line.

● Song: Generally silent

● Foraging & 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.

● Breeding & 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.

● Similar species: Brown Pelican: None in range.

Flight Pattern

Graceful., Powerful flight with deliberate wing beats alternating with short glides.
Brown Pelican Body Illustration
● Range & 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.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
PopulationFairly common to common
MigrationMigratory
Weight131.2 Ounces
Duck-like HeadX
Duck-like BodyX
Duck-like FlightX
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

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.

Read more...
ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

Read more...
Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX