Description:Large white waterbirds; big bills with huge distensible pouches; heavy body with black-tipped wings; often seen soaring on the thermals or ‘kettling’ (flying round in a circular motion like stirring a kettle).
When: Common winter visitor, usually from November through April. Large flocks of white pelicans move southward from their breeding grounds in the northern Great Plains and mountain West to southern Louisiana, along the Gulf Coast into Mexico and southern coastal California.
Where: LSU and Capital Lakes in Baton Rouge; typically fresh water lakes, estuaries and marshes along the Gulf coast.
Breeding: White pelicans nest in large colonies where no predators exist, often on inland islands in freshwater lakes in Canada and northern United States. In breeding season the pelicans develop a flattened ‘horn’ or knob on top of the bill toward the tip which is shed after the birds have mated and laid their eggs.
Feeding: Pelicans predominately eat fish, usually perch, trout, carp, and occasionally crayfish and large salamanders. White pelicans often feed together in large flocks by coordinating ‘fish drives’ –where they drive schools of fish toward the shallows or toward one another, thus increasing their catch. They dip or scoop their bill under water, then lift their head to swallow the fish, and to let the water drain slowly from the pouch.
Interesting Facts: Pelicans don’t have songs; they are silent except during mating when the adults may make a hoarse call or young pelicans on the nesting ground will make low grunts for food. Pelican nestlings exhibit siblicide by either killing or harassing their siblings so that only one or two young survive.
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