ORDER: Pelecaniformes
FAMILY: Pelecanidae
Brown Pelican Photo 1
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Brown Pelican Photo 2
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The Brown Pelican is a comically elegant bird with an oversized bill, sinuous neck, and big, dark body. Squadrons glide above the surf along southern and western coasts, rising and falling in a graceful echo of the waves.
Brown Pelican Photo 5
Brown Pelican Photo 6
They feed by plunge-diving from high up, using the force of impact to stun small fish before scooping them up. They are fairly common today—an excellent example of a species’ recovery from pesticide pollution that once placed them at the brink of extinction.
Brown Pelican Photo 7
Brown Pelican Photo 8