Talk:Pelican

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I would like very much to know where the source is that says "From Fossil record it is known Pelicans have been around for over 40 million years" I am very curious ? thank you.

The Pelican Can! Dfrg.msc 02:36, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

---Why are they so big?


What about pelican excrement? I can't seem to find ANY information on wikipedia about pelican droppings!

--- I saw a video of a pelican eating a pigeon: http://break.com/index/pelican_tries_to_eat_a_pigeon.html is this normal? Xaerocool 08:00, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Image of Australian Pelican

I saw this (bottom) image at commons, and changed this:

120-px
120-px

with this:

120-px
120-px

As somebody who shoots first, and asks afterwards, anyone who disagrees with this change?

Delta Tango • Talk 03:57, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Oh great photos! Zomputer 21:49, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pelican eats pigeon

Times on line — AnemoneProjectors (talk) 08:57, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

→ BBC 67.32.139.50 13:48, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

I don't think this behaviour is as rare as some would have you believe. I have personally seen an Australian pelcan trying to eat ducklings. There are also TWO separate pigeon eating videos on YouTube and mutiple witness accounts from St James Park, some that involve eating ducks.

Having said that, these are pinioned captive birds in artificial settings. Of the three species I've seen in the wild, I've never seen any incidence of predation other than on fish. jimfbleak 06:24, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

Second video here

[edit] Photo

I replaced the photo because I foun a cuter one. Hope no one minds. If you do feel free to revert me. I wont take it personally. Zomputer 02:49, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cannibalism

I thought that the old myth about pelican mothers letting their chicks eat them arose because someone saw chicks feeding from the mother's bill and assumed they were eating the mother's mouth itself. I read it in a book, anyway. Brutannica 22:48, 2 February 2007 (UTC) should it be noted that alot of pelicans eat other birds...alot look it up on youtube —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.100.164.44 (talk) 00:44, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New Photo

I changed the main photo after taking this new back-lit one at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. (5D, 400mm 2.8) http://www.pbase.com/ahuse/image/75923093

[edit] Is this true?

In this article, it mentions that pelicans are found on all continents but Antarctica. Is this true??? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 198.166.221.182 (talk) 20:29, 1 April 2007 (UTC).

Yes, Peruvian in SAm, Brown and American White in NAM, Spot-billed in Asia, Great White and Dalmatian in Europe, Pink-backed in Africa, Australian in ... jimfbleak 05:14, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] pelican in mythology

"In medieval Europe, the pelican was thought to be particularly attentive to her young, to the point of providing her own blood when no other food was available. As a result, the pelican became a symbol of the Passion of Jesus and of the Eucharist. It also became a symbol in bestiaries for self-sacrifice, and was used in heraldry ("a pelican in her piety" or "a pelican vulning (wounding) herself"). Another version of this is that the pelican used to kill its young and then resurrect them with its blood, this being analogous to the sacrifice of Jesus. Thus the symbol of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) is a pelican, and for most of its existence the headquarters of the service was located at Pelican House in Dublin, Ireland."

Okay, I wanted to edit this, but the page is protected. I was going to mention how the myth (as documented by J.L. Borges in his fantastic Book of Imaginary Creatures) describes how the pelican draws blood from his chest in order to restore the baby pelicans back to life, ratehr than providing her own blood when no other food was available. In some versions of the myth, the young pelicans were killed by snakes, in others, by the mother, but with the return of the male pelican, the blood was shed and the little baby pelicans sprung back to life.

What's the jive. Can someone edit it? I'll type in my reference when I get home. Stevehancock (talk) 16:59, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] migratory

I was surprised to find pelicans in Indianapolis, Indiana last weekend at Eagle Creek Park. I had no idea that they were migratory. The article makes no mention of these birds being migratory. There were some birders at the park who confirmed that these were indeed pelicans. I am no bird expert, just a photographer out looking for some good pictures. Here are some images:

--rogerd (talk) 02:14, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Not all the pelican species are migratory, but American White Pelican is. Take a look at that page, and why not add you excellent photos to it? Jimfbleak (talk) 06:48, 23 March 2008 (UTC)
Thanks for helping me identify the sub-species. Again, I am no bird expert, but if I keep going to the park with my camera, I might become more knowledgeable. I have added the images to the gallery there. --rogerd (talk) 13:17, 23 March 2008 (UTC)


- Can someone edit the kleptoparasitism link? their appears to be a typo and this page is semi-protected. Thanks. Fastsince85 (talk) 17:15, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

done jimfbleak (talk) 05:36, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Not a pelican..

The image from the Fuengirola Zoo in Spain on the left under Reproduction is not a pelican. It looks more like a stork of some kind. Someone find a new picture. :)

Johnip86 (talk) 08:10, 6 June 2008 (UTC)