Birds · Pelecaniformes · Pelecanidae

American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

A very large soaring waterbird, white apart from the primaries and secondaries, which are black and show mainly in flight. The bill is orange, very large and broad. In the breeding season it grows a horny crest on the upper mandible, a feature unique to this species. Both sexes look alike, though the male is somewhat larger.

Weight

5 kg – 9 kg

Size

1.2 m – 1.8 m

Diet

Piscivore

Feeds mainly on fish.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Estimated population

The total population has increased considerably since 1985

Piscivore Diurnal Colonial Bird

44countries 10parks7same family

Fun facts

It does not plunge-dive like the brown pelican: it fishes cooperatively, with several birds herding fish together into the shallows.
Each individual eats around 1.5 kg of fish a day, mainly carp, shad, perch and catfish.
It flies in groups of up to 3,500 birds, in V formation or in single file, covering as much as 500 km.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Freshwater lakes, chiefly in Texas and Florida outside the breeding season. It nests in colonies of several hundred pairs on islands in North American freshwater lakes; the northernmost colonies are on the rapids of the Slave River, between Alberta and the Northwest Territories
Litter / clutch size: It incubates its eggs by standing over them, a behaviour uncommon among birds

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Audubon Field Guide; Damisela; EcuRed; iNaturalist; Elliott 1992; Gmelin 1789