I took my boys to the bayfront and we saw a gathering of pelicans. These majestic birds appear almost prehistoric. In South Texas, we have primarily the brown pelican.
After doing a little research on the internet, I found out that pelicans date back to over 30 million years ago. There are 8 different species of pelicans. The Brown Pelican is the smallest of the 8 species of pelicans, but even as we see them flying on our bay front and beaches, they appear as a large, prehistoric bird.
Of the Brown Pelicans, there are 5 subspecies:
P. o. californicus (California Brown Pelican)
P. o. carolinensis (Eastern Brown Pelican) Gmelin, 1789
P. o. occidentalis (Caribbean Brown Pelican) Linnaeus, 1766
P. o. murphy (Pacific Brown Pelican) Wetmore, 1945
P. o. urinator (Galapagos Brown Pelican) Wetmore, 1945
The Brown Pelican occurs on both coasts in the Americas. On the Atlantic Coast and Gulf Coast they distribute from Nova Scotia to Venezuela, and to the mouth of the Amazon River. On the Pacific Ocean they are found from British Columbia to south central Chile, and including the Galapagos Islands. 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.
The nest location varies from a simple scrape on the ground on an island to a bulky stick nest in a low tree. These birds nest in colonies, usually on islands.
Resource: Wikipedia (Brown Pelican)
