Brown Pelican flight in V-formation, view from below. Blue sky
From Wikipedia: The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard. It is 106–137 cm (42–54 in) in length, weighs from to kg (6-12 lb) and has a wingspan from to m (6 to ft). It occurs on coasts in the Americas from Washington and Virginia south to northern Chile and the mouth of the Amazon River, as well as the island of Saut d'Eau in Trinidad and Tobago. Some immature birds may stray to inland freshwater lakes. After nesting, North American birds move in flocks further north along the coasts, returning to warmer waters for winter. Their young are hatched in broods of about 3, and eat around 150 lbs. of fish in the 8-10 month period they are cared for. This bird is distinguished from the American White Pelican by its brown body and its habit of diving for fish from the air, as opposed to co-operative fishing from the surface. It eats mainly fish and amphibians as well as crustaceans. Groups of Brown Pelicans often travel in single file, flying low over the water's surface. Pesticides like DDT and dieldrin threatened the Brown Pelican's future in the southeast United States and California in the early 1970s. Pesticides also threatened the pelican population in Florida in this period. The Brown Pelican was listed as endangered since 1970 when its numbers dipped to 10,000. The US government remedied the situation by imposing a ban on the use of DDT in 1972. Since then, the population of Brown Pelican had been climbing and was recently removed from the list in November 2009. Current estimates place the population at 650,000 individuals.
Size: 5009px × 3354px
Location: Torrey Pines beach, San Diego, California, USA
Photo credit: © yury miller / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: angle, beak, fly, freedom, klin, magnificent, wing
