Adult Brown Pelican, a contortionist when preening
Talk about a supple neck
Juvenile with a broken left leg
The larger American White Pelicans are winter visitors in our area.
They are almost twice the size of our resident Brown Pelicans.
They breed all the way up into Canada
Several hundred were resting on the western shoreline of Tarpon Key.
They forage almost exclusively by day here on their wintering grounds, but during breeding season, they commonly forage at night. Even though it's hard for them to see, nighttime foraging tends to result in larger fish being caught than during the daylight hours.
Contrary to cartoon portrayals and common misconceptions, pelicans never carry food in their bill pouches. They use them to scoop up food but swallow their catch before flying off.
Pelicans are big birds that can overheat when they're out in the hot sun. They shed heat by facing away from the sun and fluttering their bill pouches (which contain many blood vessels) to let body heat escape.
American White Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants are often found together and will sometimes forage together though they mainly hunt different fish and at different depths. Cormorants even nest individually or in groups within nesting pelican colonies.
