Pelicans are fascinating creatures! These are not just giant birds, with a wingspan of more than 5 meters, these are birds that can fly to a height of 3000 meters!

There are 8 species of pelicans in the world. These birds inhabit all continents except Antarctica. Most pelicans live in warm regions, near coasts and river mouths, where they feed on fish, crustaceans, tadpoles and even turtles.

When a pelican has caught prey in its mandible pouch, it squeezes the water out to the sides, then moves the food around until it falls down its throat, after which it swallows it.

Pelicans can hunt for fish in groups. In order to make it more convenient to catch fish, they can beat the water with their wings to direct the fish to shallow water. The hook on the top of the beak helps to secure slippery food and sometimes helps to catch big fish, throw it up, and then swallow it in one gulp.

The pelican has the largest and most capacious beak of any bird on the planet. A pelican's beak can hold 3 medium-sized buckets of fish.

Despite the fact that pelicans are one of the heaviest flying birds, their skeleton makes up only 1/10 of their total body weight. Air sacs among the bones provide additional buoyancy. Air sacs in pelicans are also located under the skin on the throat, chest, and under the wings. The bags help birds swim better, improve flight aerodynamics, and mitigate the effects of diving for fish.

Pelicans breathe through their beaks. They don't have nostrils.

Pelicans are good-natured birds that live in their flocks without conflict.

The pelican is a bird that is part of the pelican family and forms a genus consisting of 8 species. These birds can be found on all continents globe except Antarctica. They live in warm and temperate latitudes from 45 degrees south latitude to 60 degrees north latitude. That is, they have settled down in both Tasmania and Canada. They live along the shores of inland and coastal waters. Those representatives of the genus that nest in temperate latitudes migrate south in winter. Inhabitants of warm latitudes lead a sedentary lifestyle and do not migrate.

The bird is large with a very long beak up to 45 cm, which is curved at the end. At the bottom of the beak there is a well-stretchable leather bag with a capacity of up to 5 liters. This is a kind of fish tank and a container for rainwater. The neck is long, the legs are short and thick. They end in large webbed feet. The bird has air pockets in the skeleton and under the skin, which makes it easy to float even with a lot of weight. The tail is square and short. The wings are long, wide and have a large number of secondary flight feathers. On the back of the head the feathers form a crest.

The smallest is the species brown pelicans. Their average weight is 4 kg with a body length of 1-1.4 meters with a wingspan of 2-2.3 meters. These are the indigenous inhabitants of America. And the first place in size is occupied by Dalmatian pelicans. These birds live in Europe and Asia. Their weight reaches 15 kg with a body length of 1.6-1.8 meters. The wingspan reaches 3.2 meters. The longest beak Australian pelicans. In males it grows up to 50 cm.

As for the color of the plumage, light colors predominate - white, gray, pinkish. The flight feathers are dark. The bare areas of the muzzle and beak become brightly colored during the mating season. Males are larger than females. The hatched chicks are naked with pink skin. They then turn black, and when they fledge, they become brownish-gray young birds.

Reproduction and lifespan

Birds nest in large colonies. A male and a female form a pair for only one season. Immediately after the end of the nesting period, it disintegrates. The nest is a large pile of plants. But this is typical for the largest species. Small species can make nests in trees, but only if they grow close to water. Nests are built by females, and males only carry building materials. There are most often 2 eggs in a clutch, but sometimes up to 6. The shell is rough, yellowish or bluish in color.

The incubation period lasts 30-35 days. It is mainly the female who incubates. The chicks are born blind and naked. Completely covered with down 2 weeks after birth. They become winged 2.5 months after birth. Puberty occurs at 3-4 years. IN wildlife The pelican lives from 15 to 25 years. In captivity, life expectancy is longer. There was a recorded case where a bird lived for 54 years.

Nutrition

The main diet consists of fish, the length of which does not exceed 30 cm. Turtles, crustaceans and small birds are also eaten. All hunting takes place at the surface of the water, since the bird cannot dive due to air pockets. True, American species dive, but to do this they fall into the water from a height. Sometimes carrion is eaten, this is especially typical for the inhabitants of Australia. Prey is never stored in the throat pouch. The fish just gets into it and is held there while the water is filtered out. The prey is then immediately swallowed. The bird needs to eat at least 1 kg of fish per day.

Number

The number of these birds is negatively affected by pollution environment as a result of human activity. But in general, the number of individuals of most species remains at a stable level. Only 3 species are classified as endangered. Birds of all kinds breed in zoos, which is undoubtedly beneficial for their conservation.

IN Latin America 650 thousand of these birds live. 250 thousand live in the USA and the Caribbean. Dalmatian pelican has the lowest population. It is only 20 thousand birds. This type listed in the Red Book and is endangered. In Mongolia, it has practically disappeared completely. There are only 1,000 breeding pairs in Greece. But the Australian population reaches 500 thousand individuals. The birds live in wetlands throughout the continent. It is in Australia that the population situation is the least concerning.

Pelicans– lat. Pelecanus belong to the pelican family, representatives of the class of birds. The distant ancestors of pelicans appeared on Earth about 100 million years ago. Since ancient times, the pelican has aroused human interest in itself, and some peoples even revere it as a sacred bird.

Habitat and reproduction

Pelican - migrant, living in the southern part of Europe, along the shores of the Black Sea, in the thickets of rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea, on the Aral Sea, and also in Africa. Birds nesting in Europe and North Africa fly to the southern and central regions Africa, while Asian pelicans winter in India. For nesting, birds choose hard-to-reach shores, densely overgrown with reeds, or islands and sand spits on lakes. Outside the nesting season, pelicans live along the shores of lakes or swamps, in lagoons, river estuaries and coastal waters of the seas, successfully hunting in brackish and salt waters.

The breeding season for pelicans lasts from mid-April to mid-September. Birds are looking for a mate different ways. Outside the breeding colony, the female approaches a group of mating males and chooses a partner. Then the couple moves aside, and the male tries to mate with his girlfriend. In nesting areas, the mating ritual of pelicans looks different. This time, the males approach groups of females and begin to display, walking in front of them with a quiet muttering, and sometimes they gather in a circle and rub their beaks. At first, the females keep to themselves, but soon the gentlemen, individually or in groups, approach the females, and they choose their partners. Then the couple flies off to the water, where the boyfriend swims around his chosen one. Coming onto land, the male puffs up his feathers, spreads his wings and continues to court his girlfriend. Having found a place for the nest, the female rakes the ground with her beak, sits down in the hole and allows her partner to approach her person.

After mating, the male begins to collect building material in his beak and brings it to his wife, who builds a nest from it. Having completed the construction, the female lays one egg, a month later another, after which both parents incubate the clutch for 29-36 days. At intervals of one month, naked chicks are born. At first they need constant heating, but soon they become overgrown with dark fluff. Parents alternately feed their babies regurgitated liquid food, and two-week-old chicks retrieve small fish by inserting their beaks into the parent's throat pouch. At 3 weeks of age, the juveniles gather in a “nursery” under the supervision of several adult birds, while the rest are engaged in hunting. By the end of the second month of life, young pelicans already know how to swim and fish, and at 65-70 days they fly and gain independence. The pelican reaches sexual maturity at the age of 3-4 years.

Lifestyle

Pelicans live in large flocks that can number from 5 to 10 thousand birds. There is no hierarchy in the flock, but life in such a large company provides the birds with greater security. Having gathered into a close-knit group, it is always easier to drive away the aggressor, and vigilant watchmen can warn their relatives at any time about the approaching threat. Pelicans are very peaceful towards each other and show almost no hostility; Only in very rare cases do fights break out over prey or nest building material. Having started a duel, the opponents painfully beat each other with their hooked beaks. The pink pelican is one of the most massive flying birds on the planet. It can only take off from a running start, often and noisily beating the air with its wings, but in flight the flapping of its huge wings becomes measured and powerful. The pelican often resorts to soaring, skillfully using rising air currents. On a long journey, pelicans usually fly in a wedge, and since the leader has the hardest time of all, the birds replace each other from time to time. Outside the nesting season, pelicans settle near their fishing grounds, finding a place for daytime rest and overnight in the coastal reeds. Sometimes pelicans settle down to rest on windswept islands and sandbanks with good review, and only occasionally perch on tree branches. They serve as food different kinds fish are primarily schooling small creatures. Most often, birds hunt in shallow water in groups of 6-20 individuals. Positioned in a semicircle, pelicans swim forward in a tight formation, drive a school of fish to the shore and, plunging their heads into the water, catch prey with seines of throat bags. The pelican throws the caught fish in the air to turn it head first, and then swallows it. Pelicans sometimes hunt alone.

Pelican Conservation

The pink pelican is protected by law, but drainage of swamps, water pollution and mowing of floodplains pose a serious threat to its existence, depriving it of its usual nesting sites. The European Dalmatian Pelican is most at risk. If in the 19th century millions of these birds lived on the continent, then no more than 670-1300 pairs have survived to this day.

Features of pelicans

The pink pelican's skin throat pouch, densely permeated with capillaries, holds 12 liters. The bird often uses it for thermoregulation: in extreme heat, it opens its beak and vigorously moves its head from side to side. In this simple way, the blood flowing in the walls of the bag is cooled.

The pelican is able to swallow fairly large fish, for example, carp weighing up to 2 kg. An adult pelican requires 900-1200 g of food daily, and during the period of feeding chicks it can carry up to 4 kg of fish in its throat pouch.

In the distant past, there was a belief that pelican chicks eat the insides of their parents. Since then, the pelican has become a symbol of parental self-denial, although it has long been known that this is just a beautiful legend.

Class – birds (aves)
Order – pelican-like (pelecaniformes)
Family – pelicans (pelecanidae)
Genus - pelicans (pelecanus)

Even small children know a bird with such an unusual appearance. Only the pelican has such an original beak with a leather bag. Aristotle wrote about it in his work “Histories of Animals”. Shakespeare and Dante called the pelican a renewer of life.

There are legends about this bird. One of them says that the pelican pierced its chest with its powerful beak and fed the blood to the dying chicks. In this article we will tell you where the pelican lives, on which continent it is impossible to meet these birds, and what differences there are between different species.

History of unusual birds

According to scientists, the ancestors of pelicans appeared on our planet about 50 million years ago. By examining the fossilized remains of onocrotals, biologists came to the conclusion that these birds were much larger than modern pelicans. Their wingspan exceeded five meters, and their weight reached forty kilograms. And although the ancient birds looked more impressive than their descendants, even today pelicans stand out against the background of their close relatives - gannets, cormorants, frigates, phaetons.

Description of pelicans

On average, the weight of the bird does not exceed fourteen kilograms. Characteristic feature The pelican has a beak that is five times longer than its head. The leather bag located under the beak holds up to 15 liters of water. This unusual device helps pelicans catch fish.

The plumage of these birds does not fit tightly to the skin, so air collects between the feathers, which helps to reduce the density of their body. Pelicans move freely on the ground, although they look somewhat clumsy. They eat only fish. They nest in colonies.

In the pelican family there is only one genus (Pelecanus), which consists of eight species. It is interesting to watch these majestic birds while fishing. The bird is instantly transformed. At a height of three to ten meters above the water, it folds its wings and, opening its powerful beak, quickly rushes into the water.

Pelicans are very beautiful in flight. The rhythm of the long wedge is set by the head bird. The whole flock supports her.

Where do different types of pelicans live? African pelican

We will start our acquaintance with a unique bird. The nesting colonies of the African pelican are not located in reeds or on the ground, like other pelicans, but on trees; most often they are given shelter by baobabs. Often their nests are adjacent to the nests of marabou or other heron birds. This pelican is slightly smaller than other species.

The plumage is mostly white, with small dark patches. During the mating season, a delicate pink tint appears on the back. In what country and where do pelicans of this species live? The bird is widespread in Africa, south of 16° N. w. It often nests in the territories of African cities, most often in northern Nigeria.

American white pelican

The peculiarity of this species is the presence of a horny ridge on the beak, which appears during the mating season. IN northern regions In North America, where pelicans of this species live, nesting colonies often number up to five thousand. Birds settle along the banks of rivers and lakes, on sea coasts. In captivity, this species lives for more than thirty years.

Pelican brown

This species differs from other pelicans in many respects. This is a true seabird that has managed to master an unusual, original even for pelicans, way of catching fish. The brown pelican rushes into the water for prey from a height of up to 20 meters and at the same time dives to a depth of up to 2.5 meters. In addition, this is the only pelican that is painted in dark colors. Most often it nests on the ground, much less often it colonizes cliffs, and very rarely makes nests on bushes and low trees.

The brown pelican is by far the most numerous species in its family among all pelicans. The Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South and North America, the Galapagos Islands are places where pelicans live in nature. Birds prefer to settle on islands and shallow coastal waters.

Peruvian pelican

Until recently, it was considered a subspecies of the brown pelican. It was recognized as a separate species only in 2007. On the Pacific coast of Chile and Peru, where these pelicans live outside the breeding season, they are found with representatives of brown birds in one area - off the island of Santa Clara. Crosses between species have not yet been recorded.

Pelican pink

A large waterfowl with a body length of 175 cm, a wingspan of 360 cm, and a weight of up to 13 kg. The tail is straight, up to 23 cm long, and consists of 24 tail feathers. The plumage is white, with a delicate pink tint, and is quite rare. The beak is flattened, long and slightly curved down. The ring around the eyes, the base of the lower jaw, the frenulum and the forehead are not feathered. The head has a crest of elongated feathers.

Where does the pink pelican live? Its range covers areas from the south Western Europe and West Africa to South and Central Asia. In the south of the European part of the Russian Federation, it settles on sea coasts and large fresh water bodies. The total number of pink pelicans is low, so the species is listed in the International Red Book.

Pelican curly

These are large birds, the wingspan of which reaches two meters, the wing length of males is 72-80 centimeters, and that of females is 69-72 centimeters. Weight - from nine to thirteen kilograms. A peculiarity of this species is the presence of twisted and elongated “curly” feathers on the upper part of the neck and head, which gave the name to the species. The flight feathers have dark shafts. Like the pink pelican, the curly pelican has unfeathered areas on the head, but the forehead is feathered, only separated in the center by a bare furrow.

The Dalmatian pelican's distribution is much wider than the pink pelican, and the species is more numerous. From Greece and Macedonia in the east to Southern China and Mongolia, in the south to the shores of the Persian Gulf, the territories where Dalmatian pelicans live extend. Birds winter in small colonies on the shores of the Caspian Sea (southern), much more individuals survive the winter in the lower reaches of the Nile, in Pakistan, Iran, in the northwestern regions of India, and in Southern China.

Spectacled pelican

Australia is the continent where the spectacled pelican lives. It gets its name from the unfeathered rings around its eyes. In the spectacled pelican, this place is not connected to the beak, as in other pelicans, but is separated by a strip of plumage. Its flight wings, tail wings and partial wing coverts are black. It prefers to settle in sandy lagoons, on islands and lakes of almost the entire continent.

Gray pelican

A medium-sized bird with a grayish chest and tail. During the mating season, it develops characteristic gray spots on its beak. The body length of representatives of this species is on average about 1.3 m. Males are noticeably larger than females. The beak reaches a length of 35.5 cm. The weight of the birds is no more than five kilograms.

The plumage of the upper body and neck is gray, the lower part is gray-white, the undertail has brownish specks. The legs may be dark brown or black. The beak is pink or yellow-orange, the sac under the beak is reddish. The wings are gray, dark brown or black at the tips. The gray pelican lives in southern and southeastern Asia, nesting in territories from India to Indonesia, in shallow lakes.

Now you know where pelicans live different types. In fact, they inhabit all continents except Antarctica.

Pelicans are singular gender birds of the pelican family, which includes 8 species. These birds live in temperate and tropical zones on all continents except Antarctica. In temperate latitudes, pelicans are migratory birds.

The pelican is the largest bird in its order: its body length is from 130 to 180 cm, weight from 7 to 14 kg. Appearance special and unique: a massive body with large wings, short thick legs with wide membranes between the toes, and a short rounded tail. The neck is long. The beak is long, reaches 47 cm in length, hooked at the end. Under the beak there is a bag made of leather, which can stretch well and is used by the bird to catch fish. The plumage of pelicans is loose and does not fit tightly to the body. Feathers get wet very quickly, often birds seem to “squeeze” them out with their beaks. The color of the plumage is light - white, grayish, often with a pink tint. The flight feathers on the wings are dark. The beak and unfeathered areas of the face are brightly colored, especially during the nesting season. A tuft of feathers is visible on the back of the head. Females are smaller and duller than males. The color of young pelicans is dark brown or gray. Pelicans are generally quiet and silent birds, and only during nesting do they emit a characteristic dull roar.

The basis of the pelicans' diet is fish, which the birds catch by lowering their heads into the water and grabbing prey that has risen to the surface with their beaks. The pelican's beak is very sensitive; it is with its help that the bird finds its food in the water column. The beak has a downward-curved hook that helps hold slippery prey. When a fish is caught in its beak, the pelican closes it and presses it to its chest, while the fish turns its head down towards the pelican's throat, after which the bird swallows the prey, jerking its head sharply. The pelican never uses the throat pouch to store food; it serves only to temporarily hold it. Pelicans, inhabitants of salty bodies of water, can use it to collect rainwater for drinking. Pelicans hunt alone, but more often they gather in flocks, sometimes very large. Such a group of pelicans surrounds a school of fish, drives it aground, for which it beats its wings on the water and then each pelican catches its prey. Sometimes cormorants and terns join in such a joint hunt. A pelican eats more than a kilogram of fish per day. And, for example, the Australian pelican consumes it in quantities of up to 9 kg. In addition to fish, pelicans also feed on crustaceans, tadpoles and adult amphibians, as well as small turtles. Pelicans willingly accept food from people. When there is a lack of food, pelicans can catch gulls and ducklings or fight off prey from other birds.

Bird distribution

Pelicans are common on all continents except Antarctica, in temperate and tropical climate zones. Seasonal migration depends on the specific places of residence of a particular population. To live, these birds choose shallow sea waters, shallow fresh and salt lakes, and the mouths of large rivers.

Common Pelican Species

Australia's largest flying bird. Wingspan from 2.5 to 3.5 m. Weight from 5 to 6.8 kg (the record is 8.2 kg); body length 1.6-1.9 m; beak length 40-50 cm. The leather bag under the beak holds from 9 to 13 liters of water. The lifespan of the Australian pelican is 10-25 years. The species is distributed throughout Australia, New Guinea and western Indonesia. This pelican lives both in fresh water bodies and on sea coasts, in swamps, coastal islands and in floodplains. The Australian pelican can fly long distances to find food and nesting sites.

Body length is up to 180 cm. Wingspan is about 3.5 m. The weight of adult birds is from 9.0 to 14.0 kg. The color of the plumage is mainly white, the back is light gray on top. The flight feathers on the wings are black. The throat sac is light yellow in color, becoming reddish-orange during the mating season. Paws are gray. In young animals, the curl of the “mane” is weak, brownish spots are noticeable on the back, the legs and beak are black. The downy chick is white with a brownish-black beak. Males and females are colored the same. The Dalmatian pelican lives over a wide area from the Balkan Peninsula to Mongolia and the upper reaches of the Yellow River. Winters in Iraq, Pakistan, northwestern India and southern China, and occasionally on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. For life it chooses lakes, lower reaches and river deltas overgrown with grasses.

The smallest of the pelicans: body length does not exceed 140 cm, and weight up to 4.5 kg. It also differs from other species in the brown color of the plumage with the head. white and ocher-yellow crown. The beak is gray, the throat pouch and paws are black. The species nests on the Atlantic coasts (from Nova Scotia to the Antilles) and Pacific Oceans(from British Columbia to the islands off the coast of Chile). It does not fly inside continents.

A large bird with a body length from 130 to 165 cm, a wingspan of 2.4-2.9 m. Weight is in the range of 4.5-13.5 kg, with an average of 6 to 8 kg. The plumage color is almost entirely bright white, with black flight feathers that are visible only in flight. The beak is large, dark pink in color, with a throat pouch on the lower jaw. Paws are orange. In the mating season, the beak and legs become bright orange, a crest appears on the back of the head, and a vertical, flat, triangular-shaped orange crest appears on the upper jaw. The species is distributed in North America, Canada and the USA, where it lives in rivers, lakes, swamps and sea coasts.

Sexual dimorphism in pelicans is weakly expressed. Females are usually smaller and less brightly colored than males.

To reproduce, pelicans create large colonies of up to 40,000 individuals on islands or coasts. Birds begin nesting at any time of the year, depending on climatic conditions. Pelican pairs form for just one season. During the mating season, the color of the beak and throat pouch of pelicans changes. The front half of the beak turns bright pink with isolated blue areas, and the skin of the pouch near the throat becomes chrome yellow. A diagonal black stripe appears from the base of the beak to its top. These color changes last until the eggs begin to hatch.

Mating of pelicans precedes a long courtship. Two to eight males follow one female around the colony, shaking their open beaks to attract her and threatening each other. Males also pick up small objects, sticks or small dried fish, and throw them into the air, and then catch them. They repeat such “tricks” many times. Also, during courtship, pelicans often clap their beaks, emitting a kind of “applause,” while fast waves run through the throat sac, as if across a flag in a strong wind.

Gradually, the gentlemen leave the female one by one, and after a chase through land, water and air, only one male remains near her, and the female leads him to the site of building the nest. Large species of pelicans build nests on the ground. The nest on the ground is a hole dug by the female and covered with branches and old feathers. Small pelicans can nest in trees that grow near bodies of water.

The nest is always built by the female, and the male brings material for it. Several pairs of pelicans can build a common nest. In one clutch, the female has from 1 to 3 blue or yellow eggs, which she lays at intervals of 2-3 days. Both parents are involved in incubation; it begins from the moment the first egg appears and lasts about 35 days. Both the male and female also feed the chicks. The first chick to hatch is usually larger than the others. It receives more food from its parents and may even attack and kill its brothers and sisters. Newborn pelican chicks have a large beak, bulging eyes, and are naked. Downy plumage appears on the 10th day of life. The chicks leave the nest at the age of 10 to 20 days, and form homogeneous groups of up to 100 individuals, a kind of “nursery”. There they spend up to two months, and after that they acquire complete independence.

• Dalmatian and gray pelicans are listed as vulnerable species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. The main reason for the decline in pelican populations is considered to be the widespread use of DDT and other strong pesticides in the middle of the last century. Birds received pesticides through their food and, as a result, their fertility decreased. Since 1972, the use of DDT in the United States and several other countries was banned and pelican populations began to recover. In captivity, pelicans live up to 20 years or more, but reproduce reluctantly.
• Pelicans are characters in many legends and fairy tales, which are based on myths about the bird’s self-sacrifice for the sake of its offspring. So, in the Middle Ages, this bird was a symbol of Jesus Christ. And in European heraldry, the pelican is a symbol of selfless parental love, since for a long time it was believed that the bird tears its chest with its beak and feeds the hungry chicks with its own blood. Pelican is a symbol Pedagogical University Russia. A bird feeding its chicks is depicted on the gate at the entrance. The prize for the best teacher of the year in Russia is the Crystal Pelican figurine. And in Scandinavia, the pelican is the emblem of donors.
• The pelican is also an important alchemical symbol, as its beak is shaped like a retort.
• The Albanian 1 lek coin is decorated with the image of a pelican.