American White Pelican
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| American White Pelican | ||||||||||||||
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 Adult
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| Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Gmelin, 1789 |
The American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) is a very large (50"–70") white bird with black wing tips and a long, wide orange bill. They have a wing span of up to 110 inches and typically weigh about 7 kg (15.5 lb). Unlike the Brown Pelican, the American White Pelican does not dive for its food. Instead it feeds while swimming.[1] Each bird eats more than 4 pounds of fish a day, mostly carp, chubs, shiners, yellow perch, catfish, and jackfish.
White Pelicans nest in colonies of several hundred pairs on islands in remote brackish and freshwater lakes of inland North America. The most northerly nesting colony can be found on islands in the rapids of the Slave River between Fort Fitzgerald, Alberta and Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. About 10-20% of the population uses Gunnison Island in the Great Basin's Great Salt Lake as a nesting ground. The female lays 2 or 3 eggs in a shallow depression on the ground. Both parents incubate.
They winter in central California and along the Pacific coast of Guatemala; also along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, its bays and estuaries and along the Mississippi river at least as far north as St. Louis.
Habitat loss is the largest known cause of nesting failure, with flooding and drought being recurrent problems. Predation by coyotes, ravens and gulls is common. Human-related losses include entanglement in fishing gear, boating disturbance and poaching as well as additional habitat degradation. [2]
This species is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. It has the California Department of Fish and Game protective status California Species of Special Concern (CSC).
The scientific name for this species combines Pelecanus, the Latin for pelican, with erythrorhynchos, derived from the Greek words erythros meaning red, and rhynchos meaning beak.
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[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ American White Pelican
- ^ Blood, Donald A. (October 1993), American White Pelican, Providence of British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, ISBN 0-7726-7466-3, <http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/pelican.pdf>. Retrieved on 20 February 2008
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Pelecanus erythrorhynchos. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
[edit] External links
- American White Pelican videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- The Nature Conservancy works to protect habitat for the American white pelican and other species around the world
- South Dakota Birds - American White Pelican Information and Photos
- Pictures from 'Field Guide' page on Flickr
- Stamps (for British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cuba, Turks and Caicos) - with RangeMap
- American White Pelican photo gallery VIREO
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 Fishing in one of the Sawhill ponds in Boulder, CO |
 Near Fort Smith |
 At Edinburgh Zoo. |
 At Cherry creek reservoir. |
.jpg/120px-Pelicans_at_Eagle_Creek_Park_(2_of_7).jpg) at Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis, Indiana, March 2008 |
.jpg/120px-Pelicans_at_Eagle_Creek_Park_(4_of_7).jpg) at Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis, Indiana, March 2008 |
.jpg/120px-Pelicans_at_Eagle_Creek_Park_(6_of_7).jpg) at Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis, Indiana, March 2008 |
